


Blind Date

by Zafona



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Blind Date, Cute, Dating, Developing Relationship, M/M, Porn With Plot, Romance, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-14
Updated: 2013-03-14
Packaged: 2017-12-05 07:43:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 41,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/720549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zafona/pseuds/Zafona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blind date, that should be okay right? The team won't know Steve's preference for men and he'll get to go and meet someone. There'll be no judgment, he'll still be their captain, and he might get a boyfriend out of it. Steve decides to go through with it, he won't lie but he won't force the truth. He's confident, Steve watches for his date when Tony Stark walks in. Confidence fades</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn't a big deal. Not a big deal at all. He was just going out for a date, that's all it was. Nothing special, no one really had to know about it, not that it was a secret he was keeping or anything. Well, it kind of was. The details of the date were more personal and he'd rather not share them, but no one knew what he was doing anyway and no one really asked either. So it was fine. He didn't have to worry about that. But what if they did ask? Well then he'd have to lie... But he couldn't lie to his team, that's wrong, deceitful and downright out of character.

Steve paced his room nervously, his apartment somehow feeling much smaller than usual. He'd found an ad earlier that week, it was in the newspaper, a small excerpt in the advertising section boasting he'd find someone in no time.

He'd been lonely. Everything felt like it weighed on him whenever he saw couples, happily walking down the street or eating together. It was something he'd always kind of wanted, had expected to end up with. But then again, in his own era he couldn't really outright ask anyone. He didn't think his love life would be very successful, especially not right off the bat. But eventually the right partner would arise. Eventually someone would be right for him. He just never thought it'd take until 2012 to find them. In this time people could openly show their sexuality, he could see it clearly, two men holding hands, two women kissing on a park bench, but it would never work for him. Not Captain America.

After he discovered the ad he'd given Natasha a call, the only one he figured who wouldn't bother him too much about what he was looking up. He had a computer and internet, or so Tony had said the one time he had visited. So getting online should be simple, all he had to do was figure out how to get to that ad again. Steve had written down the address for the website and with Natasha's over-the-phone help he figured out how to get there and fill everything out himself.

There had been so many check boxes to describe himself; he was certain that he'd spent at least two hours deciding and answering questions. It was important; this site would help him find someone perfect for him without having to ask them outright. It was a saving grace and he was more appreciative of it the more thorough it was. It meant that whoever answered all these questions on the other end would be that much more of a perfect fit.

Of course there was the added tension of knowing that he was out in the open now that he'd go out on a blind date with a stranger a man. If it went well he'd inevitably have to inform his team. He was their captain and he'd like to know if any of them had important civilians, romantically speaking, living in the area that way he would know ahead of time that they'd inevitably run to check on them. It was logical; he knew that he'd want to know. Therefore they would probably want to know as well.

He paced faster, his nerves eating him alive.  _'It'll be fine, Rogers.'_  He told himself over and over though it never seemed to help. Steve had picked out his wardrobe for the evening, their meeting time was 7pm, the place was a nice restaurant just east of the downtown area on the top floor of a hotel, in the restaurant they had a table reserved by the big window looking out over the city. He knew all of this; the specs for the date were memorized in his mind. But what really did bother him about all of it was that he didn't know what the other man was going to look like or even what his name was. That's why the meeting place was so specific; they were only given the list of things their date had checked off but nothing more.

It was exciting and scary all at once. Steve told himself that he was allowed to go after what he wanted; just because he was the Captain didn't mean he couldn't like men. Though his mind wouldn't let him off that easily, he was worried his team would no longer listen to him, that they'd judge him, think that they couldn't trust him, it was a nightmare to think about and he'd rather not. But there it was, the nagging feeling at the back of his head. They'd question his judgement, Tony would mock him relentlessly, take him down as many pegs as he had left. Clint would outright refuse to talk to him, he was pretty certain. Natasha might still call him Captain though he could imagine the weird look she'd give him. Bruce might just question his motives and thought processes in general. And Thor? Who knows what's allowed on Asgard, this kind of thing might even be punishable by death as far as Steve knew!

Yes, he was stressed out. Yes, he was worrying himself sick over it. It was a problem but he couldn't exactly say 'stop' and it'd listen.

"Get a hold of yourself," he said out loud, stopping and looking in a mirror, double checking that he looked presentable. "The boxes he checked are perfect, beyond even what you considered. He's looking for a long-term relationship, a younger man about your age, patient, easy-going, fit, and a number of other things that you are. No reason to be nervous about anything else right now, you're going to have a great evening."

A self pep-talk. It worked, he felt a lot better. He was going out to have a good time and meet someone that might be really special to him soon. It was a big deal but nothing to be scared over. He was filled with nervous and excited energy; he really wanted this to go well. The descriptions of what this person was looking for almost sounded perfect for him, even seemed to describe him at some points. Their values in life and other things like that all checked out, in fact they almost seriously impressed him. Since he'd gotten the copy of what this person was like, what they checked off and the answers they gave for certain questions, Steve had been trying to picture him. Someone looking for a taller, well-built and fit man was definitely a bottom kind of person, exactly what Steve was looking for. He spent hours thinking about how the date would go, about what they were like in person, he hoped for someone romantic but he wasn't going to weigh in on that.

Steve looked at the time and took a long and slow breath, it was time to go, worries and nerves aside, he could do this.

Just as he was about to step out the door his phone rang, the sound jostling him and sending his nerves into another fiery spree of prickling and uncomfortable. He calmed himself and picked it up, "Hello, Steve Rogers." He answered stoically, like a captain might be expected to. He may or may not be feeling the pressure, he wouldn't admit it if he was.

" _Hey, Steve. It's Bruce,"_

Steve squeezed his eyes shut and prayed he wouldn't be asked about a date or anything like it. "Hey Bruce, how's it going?"

" _Not too bad, was wondering if you were free this evening? I'm in a social mood but it seems Tony's out tonight."_

Steve bit his lower lip and put on his best casual face, regardless of whether Bruce could see him or not, "Actually I'm busy this evening, sorry. Can I get a rain check on that?"

" _You too, eh? Alright, fair enough. Rain check sounds good, we'll do something some other time then."_  Bruce didn't sound terribly upset but Steve still felt like a complete jerk for brushing him off.

' _Well you ARE busy, so you aren't lying and you shouldn't feel bad.'_  He told himself. "Right, sorry again."

" _Don't worry about it. I'll see you around."_

With that the phone call was over. Steve lightened up a little, a smile crossing his lips as he locked his door and marched down the hall. He hadn't lied to his teammate but he still managed to skirt telling about his date. Bruce hadn't asked what he was up to; he asked if Steve was free. Steve was not free therefore he wasn't lying and 'not telling the whole truth' didn't apply because explaining his date didn't count as 'the whole truth' with the question that was asked.

Everything was going rather well.

Steve arrived at the restaurant; he noted it was a good fifteen minutes early and hoped that the table reserved for them was open. He approached the front, glancing at the 'please wait to be seated' sign and fidgeted nervously. How was he supposed to get the right seat? He swallowed his nerves and smiled at the waitress who walked up to him, "For one?"

"Two, actually. I'm expecting someone." As confident as he hoped he looked he knew his face had a distinct 'I don't know what I'm doing' expression when that was the case.

"Are you part of the blind date special?" The girl asked with a bit of a smile. Obviously they'd know about it, the seat was reserved after all. Steve brushed the back of his head sheepishly and nodded, not sure what to say. The blind date site was specifically for same sex couples, she could clearly see what he was after just by him nodding his head.

Then again, she'd see it anyway because he'd be having a romantic dinner with another man in a few short minutes. "I am, yeah."

"Right this way, honey." She winked and started walking him over to the fantastically set up table. He was amazed, put a little money into an online dating site and they go all out for you. There was a soft white cloth spread over the table, two wine glasses sitting and waiting, cloth napkins folded into nifty little tee-pees on the plates, the silverware sitting to the side of the plate, polished and clean. He smiled at the waitress and politely thanked her as he took his seat, casually waiting as his heart thumped like a jack rabbit.

He looked at the clock every thirty seconds, he was pretty sure, because several times he encountered that the time hadn't changed at all since he'd last looked at it.  _'I wonder what he's like. I'll bet he's handsome, charming maybe. I wonder what he likes to do in his spare time? None of that was on the data sheet I got back; maybe we're really different when it comes to hobbies. Won't matter, that way we can have our own hobbies and not get in each other's hair. I wonder what his hair's like...'_  Steve's train of thought went on like this until his mind wandered to a few things that it shouldn't have, his cheeks darkening with a red tint.  _'I hope I like him, I hope he likes me...'_

The door to the restaurant opened, or, the elevator dinged and caught Steve's attention. It was about the right time, just about anyone could be him. His eyes were glued as the door's slid open and a young man walked out, a little skinny but didn't look too bad in a suit. Steve was a little nervous until he spotted the woman following him out of the elevator.  _'Oh, okay not him.'_  He nestled back in his chair and took a deep breath.  _'When he gets here do you want to be a sweaty nervous mess? No? I didn't think so. Get your act together, Rogers. It's not the end of the world if this doesn't work out, just gotta keep trying. And who knows, you might catch a break with this one.'_

The doors dinged again and he glanced up calmly this time, a subtle smile on his lips as he watched the doors slide open one more time.

His heart fell and a cold feeling crept into his gut.

Tony Stark walked out of the elevator, slipping a pair of sunglasses into his pocket, glancing around the restaurant.

Steve had never wanted to die as much as he did right then.


	2. Chapter 2

All things considered, it wasn't that outrageous think of. Tony was a well known individual and finding the right person was difficult. He'd done the partying, he'd done the endless sleep-arounds, his mind started to yearn for a bit more, to see the same face when he woke every morning. It wasn't easy to find that somebody, not for Tony Stark. He was famous, people knew his face, knew his name from a mile away. He figured that no matter what he did he'd be recognized, no matter where he went or who he went with, someone would know him.

Being how he was, how he's always been, it proved difficult time and time again to find the right person. He was looking for a man; now this fact had to be hidden for years and years. He'd been thinking of coming out of the closet, putting it in his dad's face and going 'ha ha! Fuck you dad' but it never happened that way. Howard had died, taking every chance Tony had of shoving this into his face with him. After that, well, he couldn't come out. The company was his, the name Stark was all about him, he was the face of everything Stark Industries and if he didn't want to lose his place and end up on the street he'd have to follow the rules.

A sudden shift in sexual orientation didn't follow the rules. So he never opened that can, of course that didn't mean he couldn't have his fun. He'd only recently started looking for that familiar face, the one he'd see every morning and it wouldn't change within the hour. He wanted to find a man; he wanted a stronger man, a fit, good-looking man, someone who would treat him right and not care for his status or money. This seemed impossible to find, for the last few months it proved to be. Either the guy was a tiny little thing with the attitude of every small man, acting big and tough but not being able to back it up. Or the guy was ugly, possibly nice but Tony never stuck around long enough to figure it out.

Pepper had mentioned the blind dating site, insisting that it was not only quite accurate but sincerely blind. You would never get the name of the guy until you met him in person, you don't get a picture. Just a list of his preferences, the things he checked off, and a meeting time and place. Tony pretended to be uninterested at first, Tony Stark doesn't need to use blind dating sites to find the right guy. Well, what was wrong with using technology? Nothing, in fact technology seemed to do everything better than humans could in real social interaction so why not give it a try.

Tony filled out the questionnaire meticulously. If he was going to do this he only wanted to have to do it once, the perfect guy for him was hopefully on this site as well, hunting and looking just like he was. And if all went well, he'd be fit, handsome, patient, looking for a long-term relationship, and a guy who likes to take top. Tony had discovered over the years of sex with women and men and whatever else when he was drunk that he really enjoyed penetration, it was an experiment before it was a preference but if there was one thing that turned him on it was a man who would take control. Specifically, take control away from  _him_. He wanted to be taken down by strong, muscled arms; he wanted a challenge, someone who would stand up to him. It was so much to ask for in one person but Tony believed that this man was out there and hopefully he was gay.

When he'd gotten the list of things about his date he was floored. Well-mannered and polite were things he might have corrupt for some fun, but from the look of it this guy was hunting for someone really special. He'd been about as specific with his answers as Tony had been and they matched nearly perfectly. Tony crossed his fingers, two days before the date, spending hours thinking about it, about this mystery man he would meet. The only thing he was worried about now was that this was a joke, but then again, thanks to the site, the other man had no idea who he was, had no idea that he was about to go on a date with Tony Stark.

Tony reminded himself to keep that to a minimum. Chances were good his date would know who he was but that didn't mean the date had to revolve around who he was. Tony dressed well the day of, excitedly adjusting his suit and trying his best not to seem like a kid about to go to a birthday party.

"Hey Tony," Bruce called from the doorway, glancing over him briefly, "You're... busy tonight I take it?"

"Yeah," Tony shrugged, "I uh..." he looked in the mirror and smiled, no point in lying to Bruce. "Going out."

"Date?"

"Yep."

"Weird, always thought you and Pepper were a thing." Bruce crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe.

"A lot of people think that, but nope." Tony said quickly, not that he was in a hurry or anything.

"Oh, well have fun I guess." Bruce scratched the back of his head and wandered off; Tony heard the muttering 'Wonder if Cap's up to anything, he usually isn't.' But thought little of it. He triple checked how he looked and nodded approvingly. If he left at that exact moment he would arrive on time, assuming traffic permitted. And if traffic got in the way then he'd just be fashionably late.

With that he left for the hotel, fairly impressed about the reservations made by the site. It wasn't easy to get into that place, so he'd heard before. He never had an issue, he walked in and they'd seat him regardless.

As the elevator went up he found himself feeling anxious, a little nervous energy never hurt anyone but he felt downright antsy and that was weird for him.  _'I swear if this is just some tiny emo kid I'm going to punch him right in his emo face.'_  He thought bitterly, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension. His hopes were up, he knew it, he couldn't deny it or hide it. From the sound of the details given to him from the site this guy sounded perfect, sounded like he'd be the exact right person and Tony thought maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to keep him.

The doors dinged and he stepped, as he did so he realized his sunglasses were still on. It was a casual movement to remove them though he mentally beat himself for it,  _'It's evening, the sun's not high enough to warrant these in the first place AND you're inside. Good job, Stark. Let's just hope he didn't see that.'_  He thought to himself, giving himself a little hell for it as his eyes scanned for the big window seat.

His heart nearly stopped. Sitting at the reserved 'date table' was none other than Steve Rogers.

"Son of a..." Tony muttered with widening eyes, his mouth feeling a tad dry. "My date is..."  _'Should I run? I should run._ ' He nearly turned on his heel but stopped. Steve had undoubtedly seen him, it'd be so suspicious and weird if he left. Maybe going over and saying 'ha ha it was a big joke' would work... No, that'd be cruel. Steve was probably testing the waters of dating for the first time in this era and Tony wanted nothing to do with sending Steve into a lifetime of deciding he'd be better off alone. No, Tony knew what he had to do, it wasn't so bad really. Steve was the described perfection he was looking for, who could be better? He cleared his mind quickly and strolled over to the table with a wide smile, much wider than even he had anticipated. It made sense. It made perfect sense, the check boxes of what the date guy had chosen all added up to Steve Rogers, Mr. Perfect, Captain America. Tony couldn't believe it but the requirements he'd set out were for someone just like his captain. And somehow Steve ended up on that site.

This just couldn't be a coincidence.

"Hey there Cap, what's up?" Tony dropped into the opposite seat, his eyes taking a quick glance at the way Steve swallowed, his Adam's apple shifting as he cleared his throat and offered the most convincing smile he could. Tony figured he might be curious if he didn't already know what Steve was sitting exactly where he was.

"Hey there... Tony." Steve dropped his head for a moment before looking up again. "I uh..." a short and somewhat 'why me?' kind of laugh escaped him, still smiling though it was a bit awkward. Tony could only imagine the swarm of thoughts in his captain's head.

"So, since you got here first you didn't get the luxury that I got," Tony decided to butt in, not wanting to hear any lame excuses Steve might make. He knew why the super soldier was sitting across from him, he didn't need to waste both of their time. He did, however, pause to enjoy the uncomfortable shifting of his, rather well dressed, captain. Steve's face was tight; he even looked like he might cry if not for the big face he was putting on. This whole thing meant a lot to him. Tony mentally pat himself on the back for not standing Steve up or deciding to mock him, it could have been very terrible. "I'll come right out and say it, I'm your date." He knew the implications that made, that he was looking for long-term, that he was looking to bottom, wanting a strong, gorgeous man to hold him at night. Tony was aware of all of this, he was just a little lost in the brightening way Steve looked at him.

"You...?" Steve asked with a soft laugh, not one of mockery but complete surprise -and possibly adoration- Tony wasn't sure but that could have just been his own interpretation. "Tony, you're... looking for  _men_?" He asked the last part a little softer, as if they weren't clearly sitting in the reserved seating for gay couples from that dating site.

"I am," Tony smiled; he wasn't shy, not anymore. His company was on firm footing, granted he'd spent forever avoiding the media with this little side of him, he figured he was allowed to indulge himself in this. His eyes glazed over the captain again, this time taking in the way Steve's suit clung to him, made him look even bigger than he already was. "I'm sure, knowing you, you read all of my particulars over and over so you're probably aware of everything I was looking for."

"I did, and I am." Steve nodded, adjusting himself out of the awkward 'oh god it's Tony' position, or at least what Tony figured was the 'oh god it's Tony' position. "So then," he fidgeted, Tony smiled at that. It was kind of cute, in a very Steve sort of way. "I always thought you and Miss Potts-"

"Everyone thinks that, but no. We uh," Tony shrugged, "She came to an understanding after I explained it to her. At first she was pissed and beat on me, after that she found it fitting."

"Fitting?"

"That someone as obnoxious as me bottoms." Tony shrugged, noting the deep blush darkening Steve's cheeks, a common sight though this time Steve didn't look away.

"Which I'm also surprised about. Though I think what gets me most, and don't get me wrong here, but I noticed you'd checked off 'long-term' for the relationship status." Steve smiled, glancing down for a moment then back up a little more confident and even hopeful. Tony wished he knew what his captain- no wait, not in this situation- what Steve was thinking.

"I did."

"Are you serious or is this another joke?" Steve was clearly hesitant to ask but it was necessary, Tony was well-aware of it and took absolutely no offense. If he were sitting across from himself and this was a big deal he knew that he'd be even more anxious than Steve and would have definitely asked.

"I'm serious," He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, figuring he might be able to unwind from 'Tony Stark' like he'd hoped to do that evening. "It's a personal thing but I've gotten past the stage of one night stands."

Steve's face lit up even further, a proud smile spreading his lips, Tony noted, pink, soft and plump, definitely kissable. "I'm a little impressed, you really are serious?"

"Yeah, s'what I said." Tony spoke quickly, leaning back again and dragging his mind from Steve's lips. This was the first hour of their (hopefully) first date, taking it slow was a big deal on the Steve Rogers train. He was aware of this, it was even more important to take it a lot slower for the long-term to work out. He wanted to feel this out first, wanted to make sure it was safe before he committed himself because he was capable of it, he just didn't want to get hurt in the process.

But Steve would never hurt him. Tony already knew this.

"Hello, gentlemen," A waiter approached them this time, "My name is Stephano, I will be your waiter this evening. What can I start you off with?"


	3. Chapter 3

"So ice breakers don't really apply, do they?" Steve asked with a light chuckle, sipping at the water placed in front of him. The waiter had gone with their orders in hand a little while ago, the conversation dwindling toward awkward between the teammates. Steve decided that they were both there for a reason; they were both still sitting across from the other because they wanted this to go somewhere. If Tony hadn't want anything to do with Steve then he would have left, that's the type of man Tony was, or so Steve figured.

"Ice breakers as in the 'getting to know you' game? Not really, we kind of already know one another." Tony smirked, lifting his wine to his lips and trying to tentatively not look like he wanted to swallow it all in one gulp. Because he did. This was Steve Rogers sitting across from him, though it was hard to picture this man with another of the same gender. "I thought you were 'all American', what's with the man hunt?"

Steve looked away then and Tony suddenly felt like an ass, like he'd just said the magic words that struck a nerve. Which, little did he know, he had. "I'm not as... I'm not what everyone thinks I am." Steve admitted quietly, "I can't be everything they want me to stand for... I try, I really do but I've always preferred..."

"Hey it's alright, no one's judging you." Tony smiled, a surprisingly warm expression in his eyes. He felt a small stirring in his gut and figured it might be nausea though he knew it was the feeling of guilt creeping up on him. He hated that feeling. And it didn't make any sense that he'd feel it for Steve, not this early on in the date.  _'You liked him before, dumb ass.'_  His brain was smart but at that point he decided to shut it out.

"You don't think so?" Steve looked up with concerned eyes, blue orbs shifting slightly as he fidgeted with part of the table cloth. "I mean, I would have told the team about my date tonight but I don't know what they'll think of me if they find out."

"No one told you this because they figured you'd discover it eventually, but being gay isn't as taboo as it used to be." Tony leaned back and relaxed, "In some states two men can actually get married."

The captain seemed to light up at that, "Really?"

"Yeah, totally." Tony watched the smile slowly take over Steve's face and found himself grinning too, "Yeah, you might say that being what America is would include that as well."

"But you just said you 'thought I was' which means you don't really mean that." Steve pointed out though still with his lips curled up in that charming smile of his.

"Well I may have been trying to pick on Mr. Perfect Captain America." Tony shrugged; about to go further though Steve lifted a hand to his mouth to stop him.

"Can we not... for tonight?"

"Not what?"

"Not be 'Iron Man' and 'Captain America'. I want to get to know Tony as Tony, a man to another man, nothing special about us." Steve leaned back again, eyes searching for approval of the request and in the dimly lit restaurant Tony swore he saw a tinge of pleading behind them. He hadn't realized he'd been unresponsive until the desperation in those baby blues shone through, "Can we please?"

"Definitely," Tony snapped his head back in the game, a little taken aback by the request. It was weird to think he was being anyone but Tony, though it wasn't wrong to think that a certain persona went along with all the fame and publicity he had following him. "Just Tony and Steve."

"Thank you, and just to point this out, you seemed to be looking for 'Mr. Perfect', according to your checkboxes." Steve leaned back, his face relaxing and eyes dancing between Tony's as he shifted his focus.

"How so?"

Steve laughed and shrugged, "You seemed to be looking for a very good lucking individual, fit and strong, a capable and responsible man, someone who can and would fight for you, patient in general though mostly with you and your antics, fun and outgoing, wanting to please you, self important at times when necessary, able to challenge you in life, dominate you in bed, gentle enough to hold you at night-"

"Stop talking." Tony instructed, feeling a little bit of heat in his face, which was weird for him. "What are you saying? That I'm picky?"

"Well it sounds like..." Steve shrugged sheepishly and looked around for a moment before fixing his gaze on Tony's, a solid stare that would not budge. "You were describing me."

Tony didn't know what to say to that. He swallowed thickly and sipped at his wine again. Had he? When he was younger he used to hear stories from his dad about the great Captain America, the man named Steve Rogers. He'd admired those stories, and not just because they were some of the only times he saw his dad for who he used to be, but because the man described sounded... perfect. Steve Rogers, back when Tony was younger and thinking silly things like that, sounded like he was perfect. And after meeting the man out of time, someone caught up and lost entirely in a place he didn't know, Tony had misjudged who he was and figured that Howard had been wrong, a fool talking fondly about a dead friend. But it was unfair to judge Steve by that, Tony had to look at the basic details of the man he called captain, the root of his personality.

Steve was a good man, and fit the description of who Tony thought was perfect when he filled out the checkboxes for that site. Inadvertently, Tony ended up telling the blind dating site that he 'wanted Steve Rogers'. It was a difficult thing to swallow and even harder to admit but he wasn't sitting across from Captain America, someone who would see a Stark and judge him by that. He was sitting with a gorgeous blonde with calm blue eyes, someone he knew was patient, kind, loyal, gentle, strong, and a million other things. Tony's gaze trailed over the muscled body wrapped neatly in a well-fitted and fancy suit, or at least fancy by Steve's standards. He hadn't considered his captain in that way, had never really glanced or sampled the goods, as it were. But seeing what he could now, he wanted to see more of it. Somehow Steve's figure was missing while dressed in the polyester material, Tony had seen him clad in the tight spandex suit but for some reason he couldn't properly recall the shape of him. He knew Steve was an attractive man; he just wanted to see how attractive that was.

"I might have..." Tony finally said, "I'm not sure, really. I had the image of what I wanted in my head but not really an... image, you know? I just had the specs."

"Traits."

"What?"

"Traits, Tony. People don't have 'specs' we have traits, personality, physical, emotional, we aren't machines or tools." Steve wasn't condescending though his tone had that quirk to it, he _sounded_  old fashioned and somehow that was endearing.

"I know that." Tony scratched the back of his head, a motion that made him realize he was getting nervous. He was nervous! It sent a wave of butterflies through his stomach, he'd never been made nervous by any of the other guys he'd gone out with, he just acted like himself and mostly stepped all over them. Steve was already clearly in a different position. "So, tell me, how long have you liked guys?"

"Always did." Steve smiled and shrugged, "But it's really hard to find someone to, you know, bottom for you when you're that small."

Tony remembered the thought about seeing an emo kid as his date, someone so tiny and weak, and how he'd punch them in the face. It made him shrug awkwardly and nod his head, "I can't imagine a lot of guys bend over for that."

"No, especially not in early 1900's." Steve chuckled, the saying itself sounding odd to both of them. "I got into a lot of fights, not all of them were in defence of other people, sometimes I just... asked the wrong guy. I've always been kind of shy about these things and it wasn't easy to ask, people don't take to it well. Let's just say I didn't have a lot of partners."

"So are you a virgin then?" Tony had to ask, it was a rumour that the captain still had his cherry, that the idea was he was sweet on Carter and never did anything.

"Well..." Steve's face flushed red, as expected and he shifted awkwardly in his seat as his gaze tried to look anywhere but the bright brown eyes gleaming at him. "Gosh... I uh, didn't expect that question... What counts exactly?"

Tony lit up and leaned forward, a little excited to hear about the pure captain's dirty sexual adventures. Of course, they wouldn't be dirty in comparison to the things that Tony had done in his life but it was nice to hear that Steve was human, reachable and still in his league. "Penetration is the common way to count it." Even the word 'penetration' had Steve's ears tinged red, definitely a virgin, Tony decided.

"Okay... so yeah, then I am." Blue eyes remained shifted away, his cheeks still tinted. Sexual topics weren't his strong suits.

"Well if you have to ask what counts, what  _did_  you do?" Tony sounded interested, like it was something he wanted to hear about for his own reasons, not to use against anyone. It took the edge off of answering something so personal, but Steve didn't see a problem with opening up, especially if he and Tony were going to be an item. He didn't walk into this to give up right away; he wanted to make it work with the person the site depicted as 'perfect for him'.

Steve took a moment to muster the courage to say it, his gaze finally meeting Tony's again. Big brown eyes staring at him, a hint of excitement, curiosity, and numerous other things that caught Steve's attention. Tony's stare was captivating, engaging, and it made Steve feel like he could tell him just about anything. "Just the... the other stuff, you know..." he hushed his voice, suddenly very aware he was in a restaurant full of people. "Blow jobs, hand jobs."

"Who?" Tony shifted a little closer though the table was in his way to do so. His eyes widened and he nearly laughed though he managed to hold it back. "Did you have a thing with my dad?"

Steve's face flushed further but he didn't shy away that time, his gaze lowering, eyes distant as if remembering it, "Yeah, actually. I know it must be kind of weird for you..."

"A little," Tony laughed softly, "But really it's not that surprising since you knew him and everything. I mean, most people would be weirded out because that meant you were super old, but I know that already." He shrugged and looked at his empty wine glass, briefly wondering where the waiter was, it'd been over half an hour already. "Was it serious? You two?"

"Well... No I guess not. Howard was looking for release and I was... I was available and apparently in his league, attractive enough-"

"Attractive  _enough_?" Tony scoffed, "Steve you were out of my dad's league, way out." He hadn't realized how that came across until he saw the hurt look in Steve's eyes, that he'd taken it as his silly little crush on Howard was really stupid, that he wasn't worth it. "No, no, no, Steve. I'm saying you were too good for my dad." Tony corrected gently, his hand reaching over and touching Steve's, just barely. The soldier's eyes slowly lifted up to gaze into his again, hopeful. "I didn't know you liked him."

"I don't know what it was. He was a difficult man to read, honestly." Steve smiled and shook his head, whatever had happened between him and Howard was in the past now, nothing more to be done about it. "We were friends, at least."

"Yeah," The genius leaned back again, hands folding together casually, "So just to make it clear, we're both looking for something... more?"

"Yes," Steve nodded, "I want to share my time with someone, I want something meaningful." He watched the way Tony's face brightened, their gazes locked for what felt like the millionth time already and it felt solid. "How long have you been looking, Tony?"

"A while now," Tony shrugged, "A lot of guys, none of them good enough." He smirked and shook his head, "I didn't know I was using you as a judgement guide, though. I'd have wasted less of my time that way."

"Can't be easy, trying to keep that part of your life secret and still indulging yourself."

"Wasn't, but I don't care about keeping it a secret anymore. I've decided to take what I want, and what I want is a strong," his eyes lingered on Steve's body for a moment before flicking back up to keep contact, "big, beautiful man."

The compliment didn't go unnoticed, the blonde's smile widening as he blushed a little deeper, "Thank you, I don't know what to say to that."

"You could say we'll definitely be doing this again." Tony offered, hopeful and with his fingers crossed. The evening hadn't started the way he'd expected and it was barely an hour into their date but he felt something between them. It was nice not to have to introduce himself as Tony Stark, show the person who he was and what he was capable of and everything else about him. Steve already knew. It was also great to not have to get to know everything about his date, granted there were plenty of things he didn't know about Steve but he was definitely interested in learning. He wasn't sure what the 'something' between them was but it was comfortable and he'd prefer more comfortable dates rather than the awkward 'how do I leave without being a complete ass' dilemma.

"Tony," Steve leaned forward on the table, motioning for Tony to copy so they were fairly close, that endearing smile never leaving the captain's face. "We'll definitely be doing this again."

Tony returned the smile, letting their eyes linger on one another for a moment, "But not here, though. The service sucks." He glanced over toward the waiter who had been gone for over 45 minutes and called loudly, "Hey waiter! How about some refills on our drinks?"

"Tony!" Steve scolded, looking appalled. "Don't be rude."

"What? It's his job and he's not doing it. He's forcing me to be rude by not doing what he's being paid for." The playboy explained casually as Stephano hurried to their table with more water and wine.

"My apologies, gentlemen."

"Thank you," Steve smiled politely at the man, waiting until he was gone to playfully kick Tony under the table, "Jerk."

"Ow, hey you're the one kicking people." Tony laughed, knocking his foot against Steve's shin lightly. "So what'd you want to do after dinner? Assuming it ever gets here."

"I don't know, honestly. I can't imagine you'd enjoy going to a cinema."

"I love movies, just depends on how public you wanted to be with this right away. We'd be on the news in two seconds flat if we did that-"

"Okay, somewhere private then." Steve interrupted quickly before he realized how it seemed, "Sorry, I just... I'm not ready for the team to know yet. I know you said people accept that kind of thing these days but I don't think they'd accept it from me."

"Why? Because you're a public figure? A known hero and everyone expects you to be a certain way? Steve, you are you. You're the one that sets the bar for who the public sees."

"It doesn't work that way with Captain America," Steve shook his head again, the blonde strands shifting over his face briefly before he curled them back behind his ear, "You know that."

Tony knew it but that didn't mean he had to buy into it. "Steve, I promise they will see you the same way they did before-"

"I don't see how they could. I'm supposed to be the epitome of manliness." He sighed and rubbed the side of his face, clearly he'd thought about this far too much.

"What's manlier than dominating other men?" Tony smirked and tapped Steve's shin again, just a silly thing to get his attention back. "You're fine, Steve. I actually really appreciate that you like guys."

"Do you?" Steve sounded a little more at ease, even optimistic.

"Well yeah, when else could I possibly go on a date with you?"

A soft laugh escaped the soldier and straightened up again, "You're right. But I think we should take it slower, make sure we're dedicated before we tell them."

"Definitely. So after dinner how about we head over to my place?"

"I said 'take it slow' remember?" Steve tried to sound serious though he cracked up, his smile a brilliant betrayal of his intent.

"I know, I know, just... Well it's the most private place I have that's close and I figured if you wanted to see a movie I've got plenty and a big screen." Tony's hands flailed in front of him trying to wave off the concerns put forward. "We could relax, talk, not have to worry about prying eyes, it's comfortable, I promise I won't do anything like that."

Steve looked at his again empty water and nodded, "That sounds pretty good, actually." He could imagine the things they'd do together, the places he'd see with Tony, the moments their lives would share. He was ahead of himself but he couldn't help it, always envisioning things and trying to see it before it was really there. A problem that artists generally have, try to see what hasn't appeared yet. "I'd love to, Tony."

"Great, I assume you didn't drive?"

"No, today I walked. I didn't feel like manoeuvring traffic right before a big date." Steve laughed and ran a hand up through his hair, "Not a big fan of stressing myself out about things that I can easily avoid."

"Who is?" Tony smiled and finished his wine again, figuring he might want to slow down the drink, while he was at it. "I drove so we'll take my car."

"Sounds great." Steve glanced toward the waiters all huddled together, chit chatting and generally slacking off. "Okay... I'm going to start getting rude if this keeps up."

The billionaire raised an eyebrow, interested in seeing someone so well-mannered lose his temper. He would never have admitted it earlier but Steve's way of taking charge usually sparked a little something in him, not just as a teammate rallied for the cause but as a man intrigued and considering the things someone like Rogers could do to him. Before he could tell Steve to do it, however, the soldier whistled loudly, the kind you use to get your soldiers' attention.

"Can we get more water please?" Steve's tone was still polite, his face still smiling, though his eyes had a harsher tint to them. This was the second time he and Tony had been neglected for too long and as much as Steve wanted to be a nice guy, it was putting a minor damper on their date and he didn't appreciate that.

Again, Stephano moved over with water and this time Tony declined the wine. The genius gave their waiter a bit of a hard time before Stephano finally left again, a devious look on Tony's neatly groomed face. "Where the heck is our food, anyway?"

"Well it's a nice place; I assume they're preparing it." Steve shrugged, "Isn't that how it works? The longer it takes the fancier the place or something?"

"I've eaten fancy for a long time; this isn't the usual wait time." Tony muttered, his eyes shifting to Steve's very solid frame, remembering the sharp whistle that caught everyone's attention. "I have an idea; you should go back there and order the cooks around, like a military sergeant would."

"You want me to go back there and shout at everyone?" Steve simplified it with a raised eyebrow, his mouth struggle to keep from curling up again.

"Basically, yeah."

Steve looked at the kitchen then shook his head, "No, I can't, that'd be rude." Tony looked a little dejected for about half a second, like he'd really looked forward to seeing that but he shrugged it off like it was nothing. The soldier sighed very softly, enough that Tony didn't hear it, "Well I  _could_." His eyes were on the kitchen again though he could see the sparkle in Tony's in his peripheral.

That was enough to get him up and marching with square shoulders to the kitchen doors, he kicked them in with a loud bang and Tony had just barely managed to turn his phone on to catch the flex in his back as he did so, recording every following second.

The kitchen was suddenly filled with Steve's voice as he ordered the staff around like a drill sergeant, somehow knowing enough of the way a finer restaurant's kitchen worked to be able to do so. Tony was a little bit giddy watching, listening to the strength in his captain's voice as he bellowed at each individual, much akin to how he demanded respect and gave orders to the police during the Loki incident. Though his giddiness could have been caused by drinking strong wine fairly quickly, he blamed his nerves on the fact that his date was a man as epic as this, someone who would go and do things to entertain him even though it was beyond his usual comfort zone.

Tony couldn't deny he was a little more attached to the guy because of it, but just a little. He was taking it slow, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"Everyone have their orders?" He shouted curtly.

"Yes sir!"

"I want this meal done in a timely fashion, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good, carry on."

"Sir!"

Steve walked back out of the kitchen with a smile on his face; he couldn't believe he'd just done that. Of all the things he could do on his date he goes and shouts at the cooks. Though seeing the happy way Tony was looking at him, the sound of his laughter, it was worth it. Steve hadn't considered Tony in any possible dating way, or not that he'd known of. But he couldn't deny it, he'd seen Howard in Tony, he'd found the familiarity of his past life in Tony Stark and clung to it, even in the most subtle of ways he clung to it. For the time, it kept him grounded, it kept his mind at ease in a storm of confusion and that was more than he could have asked for.

While filling out his checkboxes and deciding the kind of person he wanted to be with, he knew he hadn't been terribly picky but the dominating features of the other person that he would enjoy most were being charismatic, kind, and possibly a little complex. Steve hadn't been able to fill out exactly what he'd wanted, not all the options were there for him. He'd wanted to tell the system he was looking for someone to care for, someone that would need him just as much as he'd need them, someone who, when they were scared, would run to him and drop all of their social walls for him. He wanted a kind hearted man, a sweet and loving person and he could see those things in Tony, he knew they were there because he'd seen them. Granted Tony was really good at hiding himself from others, Steve could still see it.

It was nice, he decided as he walked back to their table, watching Tony type away on his phone quickly, to be able to have someone like that. He honestly hoped this thing with Tony worked out, especially after realizing the genius fit the bill for what he was looking for. A complex, sweet man hidden beneath charisma and charm, someone who could show him how the world worked as he showed Tony how things used to work. They had an interesting dynamic as it was and Steve was really starting to look forward to seeing where that went.

"What're you doing?" He asked as he neared the table, his mood still elated from going into captain mode.

"Sending this video to Bruce." Tony laughed, "That was awesome, Steve! You're too epic for this restaurant."

A little ego boost never hurt. Steve shrugged and sat down, trying to pretend he wasn't eager to hear Bruce's reaction. A light ding cued it in and he leaned forward, "What'd he say?" His tone was deceptively neutral though he was fairly excited.

"Hilarious," Tony smiled and sent a text back.

 **Tony:**  I know, right? I can't believe he did that! It was great; all the other customers were completely surprised.

 **Bruce:** I know, that's pretty funny.

Tony looked up at Steve still grinning, "I can't believe you did that, really. And they even said 'yes sir'!"

Steve laughed and nodded, "I'm surprised, myself. I guess it's seeped into the population enough that normal people shout 'sir, yes sir' when someone demanding charges in and gives orders." He glanced at the waiters that were starting to move again, "I have a feeling we'll be getting our meal soon."

Another ding of his phone caused Tony to look back down, his eyes widening a little. "Oh... oops..."

"What?" Steve raised an eyebrow and leaned over, "What is it?"

"Bruce is... he knew I was on a date and uh... I just gave us away." Tony admitted, showing Steve the text.

 **Bruce:**  So your date was with Rogers, huh? No wonder he was busy tonight.

Steve swallowed thickly and blinked a few times, "Hoo boy... That happened sooner than I had hoped." He leaned back again and looked up nervously, "You... what do you think he means 'no wonder he was busy'? Is it a bad thing?"

"Chill, Steve." Tony shook his head and sent his reply, a simple 'yep', "He was simply making an observation, not that he's judging anyone."

"But he didn't say he wasn't." Steve added anxiously.

"Calm down, he's Bruce, why would he judge anyone? He's got plenty against him that he wouldn't be too quick to point the 'you're different from other people' finger."

"You're right." Steve exhaled and tapped his fingers on his chair's armrests. "I'm over reacting."

"Exactly." Tony looked at his phone again, "Huh... Apparently Barton thinks it's funny too. Guess Bruce found company for the evening."

"What?" Steve tensed and then dropped his head in defeat, "Oh here we go..." he fidgeted nervously, his stomach churning as his mind flurried through dozens of thoughts at once, the same ones he'd been concerned about before the date and now again during. "Tony I-"

"Steve, we've had this conversation like twenty times already, it's fine." Tony smiled at him. "Cool it."

"Cool what?" Steve asked, flustered and clearly panicked. "I didn't want them knowing because I'm supposed to be their captain and I have no idea if they'll still listen to me after all of this. What if they don't?"

"They will." Tony said firmly, his thumb flying along on his phone until Steve clasped a large and shaken hand around the technological device.

"What if they don't?" He asked again, lowering it to the table, Tony getting the hint was supposed to put it away.

"Steve, if they don't I'll kick all of their asses. I highly doubt that you'll have an issue, though. Your mind and ability to think in those kinds of situations, to give us orders and make sense in all the madness of a warzone is what we listen to. Your mind is still there, just because you'd prefer to suck cock than eat pussy-"

"Tony!"

"-doesn't mean you're any less of a man. You are still our leader, you're still Captain America, and most importantly you'll get to be  _you_. Steve, I want to make it clear to you that it is possible to comfortably be yourself, especially around us, your team. We're like a family, we look out for each other and if you're gay then we'll support you. I promise you, swear on my life and my company that I am not lying."

As much as Tony felt he might be babbling and repeating himself over and over his words seemed to brighten Steve's face, a little sparkle returning to the shade of blue in his eyes. "Thanks, Tony. I needed that."

"No problem." Tony felt his mouth shift up in a smile of his own, the most natural feeling following that kind of conversation. He looked down at the phone and shoved it into his pocket, no sense in talking to someone who wasn't there when he had someone like Steve sitting across from him. That bright expression, charming smirk and captivating eyes were enough to hold his attention for hours at a time, if not more.

Stephano returned with their meals, just ask Steve had asked for them. Tony was surprised that Steve remembered every detail of the dinner they'd both ordered, including the little tedious things that Tony had requested for his own. It was incredible, really, and he wondered if it was something Steve would take note of if they ever had the same meal together again.

* * *

"Weird." Bruce chuckled and looked over at Pepper who had decided to join him for the evening, her face twisted in a strange little smile. "They were both busy but I had no idea they were into each other."

"I knew Tony liked men and I knew that he had a secret thing for Steve, I just didn't think it'd get anywhere, you know, what with Steve being from an older era and all." She laughed softly, "But I'm glad that they ended up going out at least once, I wonder how it's going."

"Well Tony got Steve to bust into the kitchen and go all commando on their butts so pretty well, I'd say. There's no way Rogers would do that kind of thing unless he liked the person who asked him to." Bruce looked at his phone again as he sent Barton another message, "And Clint and Natasha appear to be getting as much of a kick out of this as we are."

"For you guys I imagine it's all kinds of weird." Pepper mused, taking another sip from her coffee.

"Well we'd expect Tony to be open to this kind of thing but with his womanizing it's a little more difficult to spot. Steve is a shock."

"Is there a problem that he's into men instead?" Pepper was the type of mind to consider those things, knowing the kind of man Steve was and being able to anticipate his fears. It was a real gift.

"Not at all, just didn't see it coming. Really I'd prefer he go for Tony, at least then we know that Tony can defend himself and Steve won't be rushing off to save someone's life or anything." Bruce shrugged, "It can get in the way."

"That's pretty cold of you say." She said softly, watching the doctor's eyes register what he'd said and how it came across.

"Oh, no I... Sorry, that came out harsher than I meant." Bruce smiled at her and it seemed to calm her well enough. He shoved his phone in his pocket and shrugged, "So, where you figure Tony'll take Steve later?"

"Knowing Tony, back to his place, most likely to his bed." She rolled her eyes, "Hope Steve doesn't fall for that."

"He won't, pretty sure." Bruce chuckled and leaned back in his seat, "Steve likes to take it slow, even if Tony shoves his hand down his pants Steve'll have the presence of mind to shove him away." He paused to consider that, how long it must have been since Steve had actually felt someone else's touch, "Or, I assume so anyway. His morals point to that outcome though you can't deny the physical demands sometimes."

Pepper had to laugh at that, "Really? I find it fairly easy."

"Two things, one, you're a woman, you were built that way. And two, Steve's never been handled by someone as talented as Tony, I'd bet." Bruce shrugged again, "Not a fair comparison."

"Fine, you win that one." She chuckled and watched as Bruce fished for his phone again, a slightly perturbed look on his face, "What is it?"

"Just wondering if they were going to tell us at all or if this was going to be some poorly kept secret." He tapped his fingers on his leg, "Oh well, it's out now."

"You don't sound totally happy with that." Pepper's mouth turned up slightly in amusement. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking they should have mentioned something to us, that they were dating or something." Bruce chuckled, "I'm thinking we need to go say hello."

"I've got the access codes to get in." She said happily, getting up with a bit of excitement in her steps, "Oooh I can't wait to see them together! I wonder if they're kissing yet."

Bruce rose and followed her with a wide and surprisingly innocent smile, "Probably not but you never know, Tony's a master of weaving around people's defences. He's going to be pissed with us though."

"Why?" Pepper wasn't entirely concerned with the rage of Tony Stark, there was no way the man would fire her even if she sabotaged a company meeting. Seeing him angry might have even been something she was hoping for when they interrupted the date, but of course she'd never tell him that.

"We're going to completely destroy any chance he had of getting into the captain's pants." He laughed, an infectious sound that caught Pepper in its wake and they both tried to hold themselves together as they pictured the two superheroes' faces.

* * *

"You're full of shit." Tony pointed at Steve with his fork, the soldier lifting his hands in defence and shaking his head, that captivating smile spreading his lips the entire time.

"No, I'm serious Tony!" Steve laughed, insisting on the fact that he was not lying.

"No way, I mean absolutely no way did my dad ever dress up like a show girl just to get some." Tony could hear himself cracking up at the prospect, trying desperately to keep his serious face on. He was failing. "I can't picture him in a Captain America show girl costume."

"Well I could draw it for you, if that'd help." Steve grinned, the comment earning him a slight kick under the table. "But yeah, he really did. I went to my quarters and he was there waiting for me, even his legs were shaved! I am not kidding."

Tony burst into laughter, finally letting himself believe it, and it was definitely possible. If your prey kept eluding you and the only way you thought you'd get them was by dressing scantily in women's clothing, then, as a Stark, you might end up doing just that. God knows he'd done some weird things just to get that one person who insisted on saying no to him. "What'd you do?" He said as he could finally breathe again.

"I stood in shock," Steve couldn't take the smile from his face even if he'd tried, his cheeks and ears turning a little pink as he recalled the situation, "He came up to me, said something ridiculous about star-spangled whatever and... well... He uh..." His face flushed completely red that time and he shook his head, "Never mind-"

"Don't you dare! Tell me right now." Tony demanded, he loved hearing the stories of how something as pure as America's golden boy got a little dirty. It made him feel a little more worthy of even holding the man's hand, but mostly he knew he was just being a pervert. He wanted to hear about any time Steve got off, somehow he found it to be a turn on and when Tony didn't fully understand why, especially something about himself, he needed to know more of it, experience it over and over to figure it out.

Steve fidgeted and laughed softly, "He... grabbed my crotch and sort of... led me to my bed." Tony could swear he felt the heat from Steve's face from across the table.

"What'd he do to you?" He asked smoothly, brown eyes gliding over Steve's face, watching the way his lips were slightly parted, blue eyes shifting nervously and how his cheeks just kept darkening. Part of him thought the other man might turn into a tomato right in front of him.

Tony's words slipped into Steve's ear like a playful snake, tempting him and drawing a small shudder. It was ridiculous, this was their first date and Steve was starting to act like a horny teenager, but he couldn't help it. Why did Tony want to know what Howard did? It didn't matter, did it? Regardless, he swallowed past the lump in his throat and looked up with embarrassment, "He didn't take 'Howard stop' as an answer, first off."

"I imagine you didn't say it all the forcefully, what with someone groping your cock like that." Tony grinned lewdly, getting the exact react he wanted, complete shock and the slightest dilation of Steve's pupils.

"No... No I uh, I folded pretty fast." Steve admitted after quickly gathering himself again.  _'You can't fall apart every time someone mentions a man's privates, Steve.'_  He scolded himself mentally before continuing, trying to ignore the burning of his skin and feeling of rushing blood. "I wasn't quiet, either." He laughed, remembering it. "His mouth was... so warm and the pressure of his tongue, I... I'd never felt anything like it before. He'd laid me back and had to reach up to cover my mouth when I started to scream-"

"OKAY!" Tony leaned back and waved his hands in front of him, "You have to stop, big guy."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry I... did I offend you?" Steve's eyes widened in concern and Tony felt like he might have kicked the man's puppy.

"No, not at all but if you keep going I'm going to have absolutely no control left and I'll just strip you down here." Tony laughed, smiling as he watched Steve's face brighten again. "God..." He breathed; cover his face for a moment and wiping his hand down in exasperation.

"What?" Steve nudged gently, tilting his head to try and see Tony's face around his hand, playfully tapping his foot against the other man's.

"You, you're just... I'm not sure if I want to beat Erskine up or thank him."

"Why would you beat him up?" Steve knew it wasn't a real threat so no offense was taken, though he'd really like to know why someone would ever attack the old scientist, at least, someone from this era.

"He lost the recipe on how to make more people like you. How do you lose the recipe for a perfect guy? I don't get that." Tony smiled and reached over to take Steve's hand, "Steve, this is only a date but I really it went well so I wanted to ask if-"

Tony was cut off when Steve's lips met his, a warm and captivating feeling growing between them as the playboy relaxed against his captain, the kiss a soft and gentle display of affection, Steve's hand reaching behind his head and supporting it carefully. They stayed like that until the bill was inconspicuously placed on the table, "So would that be together or separate?"

Tony snapped his head to look at Stephano, "Seriously! Seriously? What the hell!" He grabbed the bill and pulled it closer, "Together, dumb ass."

Steve laughed softly and planted another sweet kiss on his date's cheek, "Tony,"

"Yeah?" The edge was out of his voice again, eyes shifting to look back into the most mesmerizing shade of blue, so certain and sure of himself that even the colour displayed it.

"Can I call you my boyfriend?"

Those words caused a flutter in his chest and Tony felt a little choked up, for the first time he was nearly at a loss for words. "Yeah, definitely." It was amazing, their date had gone from nervous energy, to awkward 'oh shit I know that guy' to the even more awkward attempts at ice breakers, and then just sort of broke free of itself. Tony wasn't sure what it happened, probably when Steve asked to be just them, just two men together rather than the famous names of Stark and Captain Rogers. It felt so much better to be just _Tony_  when Steve was sitting across from him, like he wasn't a big screw up and it was okay to be someone not attached to the Stark name for a little while.

Steve squeezed his hand and the cutest laugh left his lips, those perfectly plump lips that had only moments ago been held against Tony's. It was a feeling that Tony didn't want to forget. Steve looked at the bill and shrugged, "Guess it's time to go, huh?"

"Yeah, looks that way." Tony rose from his seat, his face in a permanent state of happy, pleased, whatever. "My place?"

"Definitely."

The two walked out to Tony's car and Steve whistled low, "It's pretty."

"Pretty awesome." Tony corrected casually, standing proudly as he looked at it. "I've got a lot like it, you want one?"

"A little too flashy for me." Steve declined politely with a smile and went to the passenger side door, "Though it'd be kind of cool to drive one for a while."

"I can arrange that. You want to drive it?" Tony grinned, waving the keys a little.

Steve looked tempted but he shook his head, "You sure? Last time I drove anything important I crashed it into a frozen wasteland."

"Good point," The billionaire nodded and hopped inside, Steve dropping down beside him. "I don't want to be in the car when you drive it."

"Probably not." Steve smirked and kissed his new boyfriend's cheek. The title made him feel entirely giddy; he hadn't expected the date to go so well. It was incredible and now here he was, next to a man he already partially knew and felt an attraction to, his boyfriend. Tony was his boyfriend. Those words just repeated in his mind like a little song, he felt relaxed, at ease and much, much happier than he'd been when he woke that morning.


	5. Chapter 5

The car pulled up and the two walked inside casually, Tony hadn't even noticed that the lights were already on, assuming he'd forgotten to turn them off or otherwise. They were both smiling at the other when they heard a light clearing of the throat. Tony's gaze snapped up and he spotted Bruce and Pepper chilling out in the sitting area. "What are you two doing here?" The immediate question snapped out of his mouth, more than a little irked at the sight of his cock-blocking friends. He was pretty damn sure he'd get the gorgeous piece of man into bed with him and they were clearly standing in his way.

"Well I figured I'd come to see if it was true." Bruce smiled and stood up, "And apparently it is, you two really are an item?"

"Yes," Steve said firmly though his cheeks were reddened with the thought of it. He hadn't expected to come clean to the team so early on but if they figured it out they figured it out. He wasn't about to try lying, not that he ever would. "Tony and I are going out now; I hope that isn't an issue."

"Not at all," Bruce glanced over at Tony who raised an eyebrow in return. "So what're you up to now?"

"We were going to sit back, watch a movie." Tony's tone was a little irritated though he clearly didn't want to appear that way in front of his new boyfriend so it was kept to a minimum.

"Movies? Which one?" Pepper joined in with a cute little smile, one that Tony narrowed his eyes at.

"We... haven't picked yet." Steve scratched the back of his head, he wanted to tell them the leave but it seemed rude. Blue eyes flicked over to Tony who caught the little look easily, a smile widening on the genius' face.

"Actually I had a surprise for you, Cap." He took Steve's hand and started to lead the blonde away, "We're technically still on 'date time' so I'm going to take him with me and we'll see you two later."

Steve smiled a little and waved back at Pepper and Bruce, "We'll see you later, okay?" As they disappeared into the basement, Tony's workshop, Steve looked around with wide, sparkling eyes. "Wow..." he looked at a few items and experiments, projects and whatever else Tony had lying around. He swallowed a little nervously as he spotted a mattress off to the side of the room, his heart racing a little at the sight of it. He knew that eventually things would get physical, that soon enough he would be in Tony's arms and Tony would be in his, a much needed touch that Steve hadn't felt in a long, long time. His heart seemed to skip repeatedly with the thought and he rubbed the side of his arm nervously. "So uh," he turned away from the object that was inadvertently putting thoughts in his head, "What was the surprise? Or was that just a way to get away from them?"

"Actually I did have an idea," Tony walked toward his many cars, motioning for his captain to follow. Steve smiled, feeling relieved as they put more distance between themselves and the mattress. "Remember how I said you aren't allowed to drive with me in the car?"

"Yeah..." Steve trailed off, his brow furrowing as he glanced at the smart looking vehicles. "What're you getting at?"

"Race me." Tony grinned, his eyes shining with something devious and Steve felt his heart jump. The dirty look only reminded him of the one Howard had given him a long time ago, hands sliding up his bare sides, the heated touch that Steve felt himself yearning for lately. He broke the lingering stare and ran a hand through his hair before looking back.

"Race you where?"

"To my private launch pad and jet on the east side of the city." The playboy's grin widened, whether or not he noticed Steve's awkward behaviour was yet to be seen. "I want to take you somewhere."

Blue eyes widened briefly, his heart skittering a second time, "Like where?" He could feel excitement growing in him as he walked along, looking at the beautiful machines. He'd never been technically savvy but he had a soft spot for the mechanical things, especially vehicles. He'd owned his own motorcycle, after all, enjoyed driving and the thrill of it but he just couldn't do things the way Tony did them. Or Howard had done them.

"I have a private beach in Malibu, we'll fly over there." Brown eyes skated over the reddened cheeks of his boyfriend and found his own heating up. What on earth could Steve be imagining in that pretty head of his? They were just talking about cars and that was apparently enough to trigger something personal, something in the blonde's mind that made him flush so deeply. "Don't worry, I won't push it." He promised with another smile, hoping it'd be enough to convince Steve.

"Alright, you're on." Steve smirked and approached one of the cars, his hand trailing across the hood appreciatively. A blue Lamborghini, Tony noticed his captain had expensive taste, choosing a rare car just by chance. "Though I don't know how to get to your plane..."

"I'll show you how to use the GPS." Tony walked over and opened the door, tossing Steve the keys, "Hop in."

"GPS?" Steve raised an eyebrow as he walked over and obediently put himself in the driver's seat, his hands skimming over the smooth steering wheel and taking in the scent of such an expensive car. He could feel the nerves in his body spark and he smiled, feeling more and more comfortable in the spacious seating.

"Global positioning, basically like a digital map that tells you where you are and where you need to be. Start her up, Cap."

Steve nodded and turned the key, smiling again as he listened to the engine roar to life. Eyes shifting to the display Tony had turned toward him, punching something into it and adjusting it so Steve could see it better. The captain looked at the map quickly, seeing the destination and where he was sitting, "Good, got it memorized." He nodded firmly and looked ahead, "Ready when you are."

"Memorized, really?" Tony smirked, remembering the story that his father had told him once, that on Steve's mission to save the 107th he'd noticed a HYDRA map, just a quick glance, and had managed to memorize it and report the base locations perfectly. Tony figured he might have a challenge on his hands, assuming Steve could drive, that is. "Alright Cap, let's see what you've got." With a quick touch to Steve's shoulder the playboy strut over to his own choice ride, a Bugatti Veyron in red. "First one to the jet wins."

"You got it." Steve closed the door with a chuckle, hearing Tony's car charge up. The following few seconds were tense, Steve's arm flexed as his hand tapped the stick shift, a certain strain in his jaw as he watched the garage door slowly slide up. He glanced over at the other car, the tinted windows doing well to hide the genius though Steve knew full well there was a smug little smile waiting beyond the glass. A soft laugh left him; he couldn't believe he was doing this.

The rev of Tony's engine was enough of a signal for Steve, the captain's foot pushing to the floor as he threw his beauty into gear. Just like that the cars sped off faster than either man was quite ready for. Neck in neck for the longest time, speeding down an empty road and manoeuvring through the late night, ignoring traffic laws, ignoring everything except for themselves and one another. It was exhilarating and for those fleeting moments Steve felt more free than he ever had. Another, louder, laugh left him and he swore he'd never had this much fun.

And then there were other cars and obstacles. Steve felt his heart race, seeing the way Tony expertly deeked around the city streets like he knew them like the back of his hand, and he probably did.  _'I got a decent look at that map, I can figure this out.'_  His mind whirred and he quickly figured out the easiest route to cut Tony off. In a mad shifting motion and surprising control of the vehicle, Steve swerved onto a side street.

Tony glanced into his rear view for a moment but didn't stop or slow down. He had to say, he was impressed. It was incredible the way Steve's reflexes aided him in this kind of thing, though he couldn't be all that surprised. Steve Rogers was considered the perfect human specimen, everything was enhanced to surpass any normal human's state and that included reflexes. "You're cute; Steve, but you'll never beat me." He chuckled, not noticing the ruckus ahead until it was too late, the blue Lamborghini tearing up the road ahead of him, bursting out of a side street and dodging traffic like a pro.

"Alright old man," Tony conceded as he upped his game, leaning back fiercely, "I'll admit, you're good."

* * *

"Holy crap, are you seeing this?" Bruce laughed, the television on and the news playing wildly. There were several news stations playing the incredible race from all kinds of angles, the beautiful cars, both with the names STARK in the license plates, breaking so many laws and out running the police as they ate up the road.

Pepper covered her mouth then shook her head, "Tony, you stupid..."

"Wow, Cap's definitely in the blue one."

"What makes you say that?" She raised an eyebrow and stared closer at the driving patterns.

"First off, the blue one has faster reaction time, gotta be Steve. And second, it's blue." Bruce shrugged, "Tony's a red kind of man."

"Well he bought the blue one, didn't he?"

"Yeah but my guess is that it reminded him of someone, that's probably why." He lifted his phone called Clint, as it rang he glanced at Pepper with a smile, "You wouldn't happen to know where they'd be headed, would you?"

"Only thing in that direction of any importance is our airstrip." She crossed her arms, "Why?"

"Well they're trying to get away from us, what's nearby that Tony would be able to fly to?"

"Nothing..."

"Hey," Bruce chuckled and stood up, "You watching the news?"

" _I saw,"_ Clint's voice came across clearly,  _"I can't believe they're actually doing that. It's kind of awesome, have to say."_

"I know, right? Anyway, the only other place I can think of that Tony owns is in Malibu, it's about a four hour flight for normal airlines, for Tony I imagine it'd be around 2 or 3." The scientist crossed his arms over his chest as he rested the phone on his shoulder, ear pinning it down, his eyes still watching the rapidly intensifying chase.

" _Whatcha getting at, doc?"_

"Well they both ditched me earlier this evening, and again recently to do their little car chase. Not to mention I'm pretty sure they weren't going to tell the team for a while." The tone in Bruce's voice received a chuckle from the other end.

" _I got it, we'll be there to pick you up in a few minutes."_

"Looking forward to it." Bruce hung up after the conversation and smiled at Pepper, "Tony's not getting away that easy."

She clapped and giggled, enjoying the torment of her boss far more than she should.

* * *

It was nearly a tie, both cars pulling up to the airstrip, Tony stopping first and stepping out, a broad smile on his face. "Ready for some fun?" He asked as the blonde strolled out casually, Steve's face a mix of smug and humble and Tony had no idea how he did it.

"Sure thing," The captain placed a hand on the private aircraft as they hopped up the portable steps, "Also, I win."

"What! Bullshit." Tony exclaimed, crossing his arms in defiance, "I got here first."

"You said 'first one to the jet' wins," Steve tapped his fingers on the solid flying machine, "I win."

"That's..." Tony tried to sound appalled though he couldn't help but laugh, "Unfair. But fine, you win."

"Fine, I win? Nuh uh, you can't steal my victory and then return it like a gift, I won fair and square. You're the one who put out the parameters." Steve couldn't stop smiling as he walked inside, watching Tony as the genius slipped into the pilot's seat.

"Okay you beat me, I admit defeat. Should have worded it better." Tony smirked, "Was too excited about the idea of getting you out and breaking the law."

"We're going to be in trouble, aren't we?" Steve laughed, dropping into the co-pilot seat and looking at the complicated controls, "You can fly this?"

"Yes, and yes." The genius flipped a few switches and before Steve knew it they were ready for takeoff.

Blue eyes turned to stare at the mop of brown hair falling slightly around the firm features, soft brown eyes skittering across the controls and checking levels. The pure amount of focus that Tony emanated was incredible and Steve wasn't sure he had given the other man enough credit, enough of his time. "You never cease to amaze me, Tony." Steve gasped softly, watching carefully and trying to catch every movement.

Tony looked up, a little surprised and a light brush of pink on his cheeks. "Yeah?" He asked quietly, glancing between Steve and the jet, a light fluttering in his gut startling him slightly.

"Yeah."

"You know you're..." Tony heard himself hesitate, noticed the subtle, tiny way he fidgeted and quickly stopped it. "I think you're pretty incredible, too."

Steve smiled and leaned over, his lips brushing Tony's cheek just barely, the softest, sweetest kiss Tony had ever received. And somehow he thought it was possibly, easily, the best one. "Thank you, Tony."


	6. Chapter 6

The flight was amazing over the brilliant lights of different cities all across the United States. Steve looked out his window in wonderment at the sight, his heart fluttering all the more, knowing that Tony was next to him, that they were going somewhere private, just the two of them. Steve laughed softly and shook his head, "Gosh..."

"What's up?" Tony looked over with slight amusement; there was just something about the way the captain's eyes lit up at things he wasn't used to seeing. It was adorable, captivating, endearing, Tony didn't have enough words to describe it and that was not an easy feat.

"I can't believe we're doing this on our first date. It was supposed to be dinner and movie." Steve grinned, "Now we've done a car chase in the city at night and are flying to a beach on the opposite coastline. How in the world do you do that? Is this going to be the nature of our relationship? Making a plan and then doing something extraordinarily excessive?" His smile was brilliant and Tony could hardly keep his eyes off it. Steve Rogers was a beautiful man, inside and out.

"It might be, not sure." Tony grinned back and looked out overhead, spotting where his other private landing strip was, "Depends if we have a bunch of friends getting in our way."

"We shouldn't run from them," Steve pointed out, looking down and seeing the magnificent beach house and bordered off private sandy resort. "Oh my... You weren't kidding about a private beach."

"Not at all." The playboy watched the big blue eyes scan their landing site with complete and utter fascination. "Ready for a swim?"

"Really? At this hour?" The soldier blushed a little but nodded, "Yeah alright, I think I could do that."

"Not going to get embarrassed about not having swim wear?" Tony sounded shocked as he brought the jet around, starting the landing procedures.

Steve scoffed softly and shook his head, "A little I guess but I've been skinny dipping before."

"No way!" Tony laughed, "You're kidding! When?"

"Back in the mid 30's," the captain explained, "We were teenagers; Bucky and I were hanging out with some of his other friends and none of us had swimsuits but we wanted to go swimming. It was summer, it was real late, and I... I had been trying to fit in, as usual. I was the first one in the water."

"No kidding," Brown eyes skated over the muscle bound man next to him, trying to remind himself that Steve hadn't always looked like that. "And then what happened?"

"Well then they followed but I ran straight in, I was kind of more concerned with how cold the water was in the night." Steve laughed and shook his head again with the memory, "It was such a shock but I did it. Bucky's friends thought I was somethin' else, and if they didn't judge me for my size after that then I was pretty happy. It was a good night."

"Did you and Bucky-"

"No! No..." Steve cut him off quickly and kept his attention firmly on the ground as they landed, "Bucky was always into dames, but he knew about my... preferences. I'd tried with him once, only once. I think I was drunk at the time."

"You probably would have had an easier time after the serum," Tony teased, getting a quick smile from his date.

"Probably. But that's neither here or there, now." Blue eyes sparkled as they gazed over the ocean, a full and excited smile taking over his face, lips parting slightly, just enough to show pearly white teeth. "Tonight it's just you and me."

Tony found himself blushing at that, turning away to focus on shutting the jet down though it was a quick task and didn't keep his mind occupied that long. He felt strange, much different than any other date he'd ever been on, much different than he'd felt with just about any other person. Putting the rule down, only Steve and Tony without superhero personas for the evening, it was the best decision of the night. Going to Malibu was the second.

Steve leapt from his seat and bolted to the door, "C'mon Tony, I'm gonna beat you again!" he called playfully over his shoulder, opening the hatch and jumping down without too much worry. He stopped and looked up at the billionaire who had paused at the doorway, looking at the short distance to the ground, knowing he'd fallen much further, and yet he still hesitated. Steve didn't miss this, he didn't miss anything. Muscled arms lifted up and a brilliant smile shone Tony's way, "It's alright, just jump. I promise I'll catch you."

That was all Tony needed to hop forward, landing in Steve's arms easily, as if he'd just been picked up and hadn't leapt off a jet. "Your strength still surprises me sometimes." Tony murmured, his hand coming up and briefly touching the middle of Steve's chest, feeling the hard muscle rising and falling beneath the soft shirt.

A heated blush tinted the soldier's cheeks as he slowly put Tony down, their eyes meeting for a moment and time felt like it slipped away. How could this only be their first date? It felt like so much more, like they'd known each other forever. And really, they kind of had. They didn't need the ice breakers because they knew the other man sitting across from them, they could get so close because they  _knew_  each other already. It wasn't their first date, officially maybe yes, but somehow in their heads it seemed like much more than all of that.

That same charming smile never left the captain's face as his hands slid off of his boyfriend, the touch lingering just long enough to show a little more than the sweet side of his thoughts. Eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity, the gaze was broken suddenly when Tony bolted for the water, he wasn't going to be beaten a second time.

"Hey no fair! Head start!" Steve called with a laugh quickly pulling his clothes off and darting across the sand as he did so. In a thoughtless and swift motion he hopped out of his underwear, just barely stepping over Tony's own articles and splashing into the dark water beside the playboy. The first thing they did was dive under, there was nothing worse than being half dry and dreading the cold lick of the water on their skin.

Tony popped up first and ran a hand over the mop of brown hair on his face with a gasp, "Head start? I barely made it here first! You're wicked fast." He slapped the wet flesh of his date as Steve emerged, the same 'get my hair out of my face' move and quickly gulping in air.

"Sorry?" Steve chuckled, shoving the other man back. He leaned back a bit and dipped his head in again to get his hair to at least go the right way, there was just something inherently uncomfortable about the feeling it gave when hair strands are angled against the usual flow.

"I know you aren't." Tony's voice trailed off as he watched the expanse of Steve's naked chest bob out of the water, the muscles making a beautiful trail down into the darkness, and yet, with the glow of the arc reactor, Tony could see just about everything above Steve's knees. He exhaled softly, taking in the warped sight, trying to see through the haze of the water to make out the clearer details. It was tough to do but he could see enough to know that this man was big in every way possible, and it was even harder to stop himself from reaching out and taking what he wanted.

Steve couldn't help but notice Tony had gone pretty quiet and followed the man's gaze, part of him wanted to do the usual instinctual covering up and be embarrassed and mad that Tony was looking. The other part of him was more logical, reminding him that he'd been the one to undress in the first place. Steve smiled and splashed Tony in the face, "Earth to Stark, come in Stark."

Tony laughed and splashed back, "Sorry, a little mesmerized there."

"Like what you see?" The lack of shyness in Steve's voice caught Tony off guard, he'd expected a bashful response but instead... Well Steve was damn near boasting. If that wasn't the hottest thing he'd ever done.

"I do." Tony grinned though he was unprepared for another splash in the face; he looked Steve up and down again, wondering if he wanted to take part in this water fight. He decided yes, and made as big of a wave as he could back at his boyfriend, knowing that the following reply would send him back a few feet so he braced himself.

As Tony waited for the heavy hit of water he was entirely surprised to feel arms around him, the warmth of a broad chest against him and light brush of air as Steve breathed. The soldier's hands trailed down the inventor's back, one hand stopping to rest on his hip while the other dared to touch a little further down, feeling the soft swell of Tony's rear. The playboy gasped quietly and rested his head against the solid muscle that had offered itself to him. He didn't want to say anything, didn't want to ruin the moment or scare Steve off. He just wanted to enjoy the touch of his captain caressing him and getting know his body a little better. But he was Tony Stark and silence wasn't a strong suit. "I thought you wanted to take things slow?"

"Well I was prepared to; I expected a brand new face and wanted to get to know them before trying anything." Steve leaned back from what Tony now recognized as a hug, a groping hug but still a hug. "I know you already, Tony." His voice was gentle as he reached up and brushed some stray hairs back on the genius' head, hand lowering to stroke his cheek before stopping under his chin to tilt his jaw up. Those blue beauties not showing any sign of concern or fear, just affection and a little something Tony would recognize immediately; lust.

Before Tony could wrap his head around the idea that Steve Rogers was lusting after him their lips met, those perfect, plump, soft lips pressing into his with a warmth and a fire that Tony couldn't help but moan under. He fell through the kiss like a teenager, Steve's hand finding its way behind his head and into his hair, guiding him through it. It was gentle, sweet, and demanding at the same time. Steve's body pressed against his, neither paying too close attention to the nakedness, just that they could feel the skin of the other and that was fine. Tony's knee lifted up between Steve's legs, carefully applying pressure and rubbing insistently, he felt like he'd won a prize when he heard the soldier's muffled groans.

Their hands started to wander then, Steve's stroked up and down Tony's flank, gripping the flesh there and squeezing lightly. Tony made sure to feel the chiselled chest, fingers trailing each crease and bulge until he found the curve of his captain's hip and followed the indented muscle line straight to the swelling weight he'd been kneading slowly. A smile came to Tony's lips as he wrapped his fingers around the length of it, gulping down each one of Steve's moans and whimpers, the mass of the other man leaning on him slightly.

"Tony..." Steve gasped, his hips rocking forward into the touch, his cheeks flushed heavily. He traced the separating crack of Tony's cheeks and tucked his fingers underneath, finding the hole to tease easily. They continued the kiss as their bodies pressed and bucked against each other, both making the most embarrassing noises they ever had, all for the other's pleasure and for their ears alone.

In the heat of the moment neither noticed the approaching quinjet, not until it was hovering so close to them that it was undoubtedly impossible for the people on board to not be able to see them. Steve flinched and glanced up, his mouth slightly open as he stared in disbelief. "They followed us."

"Those sons of-mf!" Tony didn't mind Steve's hand on his mouth though he did notice it was the one that he'd been fingered with.

"We're completely naked, what do we do?" There was a tinge of panic in the captain's voice then, he hadn't intended to show off to the entire team (minus Thor).

"Uh..." Tony watched as the quinjet landed, could see the silhouettes of the pilots, who he knew would be Clint and Natasha, moving to the back of the aircraft. "No idea."

"Tony..." Steve's tone was half whining half scolding, he really didn't know what to do and the situation was far from comfortable all of a sudden. "We seriously can't just walk over there."

"Why's that?" Tony started moving to do just that, his smile wide as he went.

"Well..." Steve glanced down and the genius followed his gaze, realizing that the captain was fully erect and it would be near impossible to hide that, even if Steve covered it with his hand (that Tony still thought would be too small even if a raging boner hadn't presented itself).

"Ah, well then we'll have to wait until these go away." Tony was proud of his own body; he'd done this kind of thing often enough that a little bit of fingering wasn't going to get him as close as Steve. Though that exact thought gave him the solution, assuming Steve would go with it. He noted the displeased expression on his date's face and figured that it might not be so hard to convince him. "I could take care of it for you, of course."

"But they're-"

"All the way over on the beach, come on." Tony reached over and firmly grasped the engorged flesh, stroking and squeezing, fondling a little just to tease the larger man. Steve mewled softly and covered his mouth, leaning forward against Tony, gasping and wanting to protest but he just couldn't summon the will power. "That's it," Tony wasn't going to lie, he was seriously loving this. Best first date, best blind date, best boyfriend. A sharper inhale and cry accompanied the twitch of Steve's muscles as he came to the tip of his orgasm, shaking in Tony's arms and biting back the louder, more prominent outbursts. He panted heavily and rested his head on the inventor's shoulder as his chest expanded and contracted deeply. "You good?"

"Mhmm..." Steve nodded, lifting his head and looking slightly embarrassed, a look Tony loved on him. "Thank you, Tony."

"Don't thank me, it's going to be a regular thing." Tony gave a final stroke before heading toward the shore, loving the soft whine he'd earned himself and ignoring the fact that their friends had walked out onto the beach, big grins on their faces. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Not much." Bruce raised an eyebrow as Tony trotted by, gathering his clothes without any shame. Steve wasn't quite like Tony, he had a much harder time even glancing at the team as he walked up the sandy terrain, picking up his things and heading after Tony for the beach house. "Hey there, Cap."

"Hi... guys." Steve gave a small wave before disappearing into the building, his cheeks burning as he could feel eyes on his backside. "Oh man..."

"Not that bad," Tony grinned at him, "Come on, let's shower."

"Together?" Steve asked with big eyes, he'd never shared a shower with anyone before and had fantasized about it more times than he could count.

"Uh, yeah. That what I meant by 'let's'." Tony motioned for his captain to follow, not having to do so more than once because Steve was right behind him then, hands sliding along his front in a teasing touch before he lifted the playboy into his arms.

"Where is it?" Steve asked with a smile, enjoying Tony's surprised expression extensively.

Tony pointed down the hall, brown eyes almost as wide as saucers. He hadn't expected to find himself in the soldier's arms again so soon, hadn't expected to have missed it so much already. He made a mental note to fund that website a little more; it'd given him the perfect man for everything he'd wanted, and then some. "Steve?" He rested his head against the bare shoulder of his boyfriend, voice soft as he spoke.

"Yeah?"

"You're perfect."

Tony heard the heartbeat beneath his ear skip a beat and it brought a smile to his lips, listening for that smooth voice to reply to him. "Thank you, Tony, you're everything I could have asked for, and more."

* * *

"Did they seem fazed to you?" Pepper asked, his cheeks a little pink as she couldn't help her smile. It was a nice view, watching both men scamper out of the water and trot inside, not able to cover every part of their nudity.

"Very much so." Clint tried his damnedest not to laugh though he couldn't help the vibration in his voice. "I think Cap's discovered a new shade of red."

"Possibly." Bruce chuckled and headed inside, "Come on, we have the rest of an evening to impose upon."

Natasha shook her head with a smile, sabotaging their teammates' first date? That was something you only had the chance to do once, and so far, the meddling had led the couple to a beach house in Malibu. Natasha doubted that if Bruce hadn't decided to arrive in the first place Tony never would have gotten past the captain's belt buckle. Really the two should be thanking them, though she was well aware that there was no way that they actually would.


	7. Chapter 7

It was shower time; Tony had been looking forward to this for forever. He was about to turn around to see his naked captain follow him into the bathroom but Steve was already right there, arms wrapping around him and lifting him up. Tony gasped when he was pressed against the wall, powerful hands supporting him and digging into his softer flesh. The playboy didn't waste any time, he swung his legs around Steve's waist and pulled him even closer, their bodies flushed together in a heated embrace.

"Tony," Steve moaned his name like a needy dog, his face pressed into the dip of Tony's neck, mouth sucking and nipping at the tender skin waiting there.

"Not gonna care the others are in the room next door?" Tony teased, his voice breathy as he tried to keep his air intake steady.

"They knew what they were interrupting," Steve growled out, apparently he'd lost his patience.

"Naughty boy," The billionaire purred, hands running up Steve's biceps and shoulders, tickling the soldier's collarbone before grasping at his hair, messing it up thoroughly, gripping it and pulling as Steve left hickies all over his skin. "Ohhh god..." He thrust his hips against the solid mass of flesh holding him up, "I can't take it anymore, Steve." He groaned and pulled the soldier's hair enough to force his head back, pressing their lips together desperately, "Take me." He whispered between kisses, rolling his lower half into firm muscle, loving every little bit of friction. Damn it was this soldier attractive; it should seriously be a crime.

"Patient," Steve smiled into their contact, one of his supporting hands drifting and finding its way down to Tony's backside again. He teased the entrance a little more though his fingers slipped away from it nearly as quickly. The playboy whined in protest but the sound was soon drowned out by a long and pleasured moan as Steve started working him up, stroking and lightly squeezing, enjoying every little sound it earned him. "I didn't know you were capable of sounding like this," the soldier whispered roughly in his ear, shivers working their way down his spine.

Their mouths met again, slowly this time, a certain motion in their jaws as they tasted one another, tongues pressing into the unknown spaces of the other's mouth. Tony felt his face flush at how strong Steve was, just taking every ounce of control away from him, claiming him with just the muscles of his tongue and pressure of his lips. The playboy moaned, he could feel his walls coming down, could feel Steve taking him apart and he loved every desperate and needy second of it. "Steve," he whined softly, bucking up into his hands, revelling in the firm touch and shift of the man's hard muscle. "Oh god, Steve..."

Fingers returned to his entrance Tony cried out a bit louder, everything felt so good he couldn't stand it. He wished he'd had lube or something nearby because he didn't want to have to go and get it, but he knew he'd need it and every second that passed he was getting so much closer to saying 'fuck it' and just taking it hard. Of course that wasn't a good idea with a regular guy; this was Steve Rogers, Captain America, enhanced in every way and a lot bigger than any other man Tony had been with. "Steve, wait." He gasped, feeling the heat between them burning his skin, making him want to beg for more of it.

But Steve obediently stopped; his head leaning back to give Tony a bit of space, "What's wrong?"

"I need to get lube before we continue." Tony smiled, his heart fluttering at the sound of concern in his captain's voice. So goddamn cute.

"Okay... where is it?"

"Bedroom." Tony barely managed to finish saying it before his position against the wall shifted and he was fully in Steve's arms, the soldier holding him tightly to his chest as they exited the bathroom and walked the remaining steps to the master bedroom. Tony started kissing down Steve's neck again, figuring that maybe they'd just shower after. That way they didn't have to take two and their first time would be in a bed, something he was certain Steve would appreciate.

Strong arms laid him in the bed, Tony closed his eyes as the silky sheets caressed his bare skin, a warm weight laying over him. He heard the rummaging sounds of a hand in a drawer and then Steve's voice, "Is this it?" He asked, lifting the tube to examine it with curious eyes.

"That's it, soldier boy." Tony smiled and relaxed, loving the view of such a gorgeous man tucked between his thighs.

Steve seemed to appreciate the nickname, a smile tugging at his lips as he slicked his fingers before spreading Tony's cheeks. He didn't say another word as he slipped a finger inside, wriggling it around and getting to know the space he'd be intimately plundering in a few moments. Tony mewled and squirmed under the captain's touch, his hands sneaking up to his throbbing erection to ease some of the pressure but were smacked aside before they could do anything. "Aww..." Tony whined softly though the sound was quickly cut off by a sharp cry when Steve pushed a second finger inside. It was a little fast paced but Tony had never felt so amazing in his life, never wanting to tell the other man to stop.

A warm, wet pressure encased the playboy's leaking member, lightly though noticeably sucking and tasting the bitter, salty flesh. Tony gasped and bucked up into Steve's mouth, his mind reeling with the thought that Captain America was sucking his cock and he thought he couldn't get any harder than he already was. "Oh god Steve... so... good..." he moaned loudly, his legs shaking and quivering against Steve's shoulders, "Please... you-ah! Ahhh Steve... Oh Steve. Oh Steve! Ohh!" His back arched when a third finger pressed inside him, he was trying so desperately not to come, he was a master of holding back but Steve was a lot better at this than he originally thought the man would be.

Tony felt the pressure increase, felt the smile on his boyfriend's face as those full lips moved along his shaft, a powerful tongue massaging the throbbing vein as if it were as dextrous as a finger. Tony's hips were thrusting up in a flustered panic now, hands fumbling as they reached down and pulled the soldier's hair, groping his scalp and pulling again. Steve groaned and made a slight gasping sound as his head was nearly dragged from his focus, the cutest noise Tony had the presence of mind to notice before he lost it. A loud cry escaped him as Steve picked up the pace, fingers working Tony open quickly as he bobbed his head along the quivering mass, taking in everything Tony had to offer him.

Steve leaned back, cum dripping from his lips as they popped off the softening cock, his tongue sliding out to flick over the tip playfully. Tony continued to moan as the captain never halted his fingering, scissoring and stretching the muscle as wide as he could before penetration. "How do you know what you're doing?" Tony asked softly, his body moving in accordance with Steve's, mind still feeling fluffy from the orgasm. He was looking forward to this too much for it to be any kind of healthy.

"I've done my research," Steve answered, his free hand coming up to wipe his mouth, Tony didn't miss the way those blue eyes skated over the excess on his hand and how he brought it to his lips to clean it off. "I didn't want to go into this completely clueless."

"You watched porn?" Tony laughed, the sound cut off when his breath hitched as Steve removed his hand, leaving the playboy feeling open and empty.

"Maybe." The blonde replied, going for the tube again, coating his own stiffened arousal liberally, a soft moan rumbling in his throat. Tony licked his lips at the sight of Steve Rogers touching himself; somehow it was the perfect image. Steve didn't need to ask if Tony was ready, he was well aware the genius was completely compliant and opened up, Steve couldn't help but hope he was open wide enough. It was tough to judge, really, he'd never been inside anyone before and he might be a lot bigger than that. But he went for it anyway.

Tony's back arched when the full length of his captain pushed inside him, filling every bit of him and then some. He'd never felt so completely satisfied, it just felt right. Once you do it with the captain there's no going back to regular men, he was now aware of that fact and knew that he'd never be happy with anyone else on top of him.

Steve's body leaned back slightly, his breath shuddering from the friction, arms a little shaky. Tony was so  _tight_  and so warm, muscles flexing all along his dick and driving him crazy. Steve's hips snapped forward, earning him the newest in the list of sounds he'd never dreamed he'd hear coming from that mouth. He smiled and did it again, loving the way Tony's legs curled around his waist, heels digging into him, hands grasping at his shoulders and leaving marks on his back.

Tony cried out when Steve grazed his prostate, thrusting up against the larger man and wriggling to get into the right position. Steve hit it on the next one and Tony didn't hold back, nails digging into Steve's skin as he screamed out in ecstasy, he had no idea he had such a good reload time but clearly Steve was capable of bringing out just about everything good in him.

The soldier was doing his best to remain completely dominant and manly, as was expected of him in the top position, but as Tony came again, his release wetting their stomachs, Steve whine a little in frustration. Another part of being a super soldier was that he had great stamina, especially since Tony had eased him off with the little hand job in the water. Tony was panting heavily and feeling amazing though he couldn't ignore the way Steve's demeanour broke down to be a little more desperate, the soft whimpering and anxious breaths in his ear. The playboy smiled and rolled his head over to whisper to his lover, more than willing to take this for Steve. "You're holding back on me, soldier. Come on, I want to hear you, I want everything you can give me, Steve."

Steve gasped and bucked a little harder, moaning loudly, needy and getting louder. "Oh Tony!" He cried out, letting his softer side come out again. Trying to be just dominating and strong was only part of who he was and Tony knew it, he wanted all of Steve, not just the pieces Steve thought that Tony might be expecting from a partner. Steve groaned and shuddered, mumbling and crying out things that weren't entirely coherent, all Tony knew was that he heard his name mixed in numerous times.

"That's it," Tony breathed, still seeing stars with every thrust, "Scream for me baby, it's okay."

And that was all the permission Steve needed, his hips stuttering and legs slipping a little as he fell against Tony, gulping down air greedily, trying to steady himself though that was entirely impossible. "Oh my god..." he wheezed, "Tony..."

Tony smiled and rested his head back, "I've never had that problem with a virgin before." He chuckled.

"Shut up," Steve laughed softly, lifting himself up and off his boyfriend, curling up beside him. "Can we shower later?" He asked tiredly, eyes closed already.

"I don't think I could get you up if I tried." Tony replied with a quiet chuckle and nuzzled his face against Steve's, not that he would want to pass up cuddling with the super soldier, ever.

* * *

"We asked for that." Clint pointed out after the beach house quieted down.

"Yeah." Bruce covered his mouth as he tried not to laugh, "We kind of did."

Pepper's face was beat red as she tried to ignore that she heard anything at all, glancing at Natasha who looked as cool and collected as ever. Like she listened to that kind of thing all the time.  _'Well she is Russian...'_  Pepper thought to herself mildly amused.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up; in this chapter I've taken some creative liberties and changed certain things that obviously didn't happen the way I'm depicting it.

The warmth of the sun seeping in the window found its mark perfectly, Tony squinted angrily and rolled over into the heated mass beside him, nuzzling what he could only imagine was the skin of his lover. He could still smell Steve's cologne, a sweet kind of scent that Tony would normally assume had no business being associated with a man, but somehow Steve pulled it off just fine. He groaned softly when he shifted his legs, a dull throb trailing all through his lower half and continuing painfully at the epicentre, Steve had done a number on his rectum, he concluded.

Tony lifted his head then and swore his heart melted by the sight of Steve sleeping, his expression so peaceful and serene it was a little heartbreaking that Tony's bladder felt like it was going to burst.  _'I have to slowly get out of bed and not wake him... Yeah...'_  He glanced at the arms wrapped around him, how Steve was holding him closely as if he couldn't stand waking without the other man next to him. Tony considered that for a moment, Steve had been frozen for so long, sleeping for 70 years and when he did wake up no one he knew was around anymore. It must have been an awful feeling.  _'Better just wake him.'_  He decided.

"Steve," Tony whispered, lifting the other man's arm and sliding it off, noticing the flinch and how the soldier reached out again and held onto him. Tony laughed softly and attempted to do it again, this time to slip out, though Steve's grip had gotten tighter and it was quickly becoming more obvious that Tony  _had_  to wake Steve to be able to leave. "Aw crap." He muttered, tugging at the grip though he was still smiling. It was the sweetest thing he'd ever seen Steve Rogers do and it almost made him want to remain where he was. Almost. His bladder was a little more persuasive. "Come on big guy," Tony wriggled closer and started kissing the nape of his lover's neck, listening to the soft moans coming alive in Steve's throat.

"Mmm... Tony?" Steve muttered, his hold loosening, hands starting to slide along the slighter frame pressed against him. The soft grip of sleep on his nerves started to fade away as he stirred, stretching his arms and back, the arch of his body driving Tony a little crazy. "What time is it?"

"Time to pee, lemme go." Tony started trying to squirm free; the soldier's grip slackened and allowed him passage.

"Sorry." Steve laughed, covering his face as he listened to the quick pads of Tony's feet on the floor. "Ah... So romantic." He snickered sarcastically, glancing toward the open door. He paused and considered the following few moments, knowing Tony well enough that the genius wouldn't bother closing the door. Steve gathered a few towels and snuck to the bathroom after his new boyfriend, closing the door quietly behind him.

Of course the door opening in the first place had Tony's attention from the get go. "Shower time?" He asked coyly, glancing at the towels in the soldier's hands.

"You better believe it," Steve smirked, "You've got quite the trail on your backside, figured you'd enjoy cleaning up."

"Your assumption that I'd enjoy it better with you is pretty spot on," the genius went to wash his hands before grabbing his toothbrush, the beach house was always stocked for the surprise visits. He glanced in the mirror at the messy mop of blonde hair and still sleepy expression on his captain's face. "You know, we can't be 'just Tony and Steve' forever."

"No, of course not. But we are who we are and eventually things will settle." Steve wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, dropping the towels, and rested his head against the man's shoulders. Tony had expected the same easily flustered man in the morning, had thought Steve would still be so easy to make blush and that he'd be hesitant to continue being so open about their relations. Obviously when Steve Rogers knew what he wanted he went for it without hesitation. That thought made Tony smile, something about his captain's strength and loyalty was exactly what he'd been looking for, exactly what he needed. A man who would take charge, would challenge him, have the capacity to be adorably cute and clueless, drop dead gorgeous, who would hold him, care for him, and love him no matter what he did. Steve was that man, he'd never be flaky and he'd never leave. Steve was perfect.

So then if Steve was everything he wanted, why was it so hard to tell him so? Tony rested his head on his partner's and sighed softly, fighting off the hesitation and fear of what might come of it. "You're perfect, Steve."

A soft chuckle and a quick kiss to the cheek were the other man's responses, hands trailing up Tony's torso and back down, feeling the expanse of toned muscles and surprisingly soft skin. "Mm, perfection is a lot like beauty, it's in the eyes of the beholder." Steve's voice was gentle as he kissed the curve of Tony's neck, "In my opinion, you're perfect too."

"Everyone thinks I'm perfect." Tony joked, falling back against his captain's chest, loving how broad it was, how he knew Steve could manhandle him if the soldier so pleased.

"I'm sure." Steve let go and moved to put the towels in a better place, "Come on, let's get washed up and I'll make you breakfast."

Tony brightened even further with that thought, he kept himself composed as he strolled into the shower, "So, you interested in switching positions once in a while?" He asked with a grin, loving the sudden blush creep back into Steve's face. Still pretty easy, apparently, or at least it was for Tony.

"Well... I mean yes, I would. I-I just... uh..." Steve stuttered and stammered his way through words that didn't seem all that interested in forming for him until Tony put a finger to his lips.

"Cool it, Cap." He leaned up and kissed the soft pink things once he'd removed his hand, enjoying the morning taste on Steve's breath. Apparently the funky bed breath thing didn't apply to Captain America; his mouth was also in the 'enhanced' category which meant it stayed cleaner than most people's. Tony would have to remember that. "Wow, do you even have to brush your teeth?"

"I do," Steve smiled and kissed back, whatever happened between them would happen and really he'd just have to make sure he was comfortable with it. That wasn't too big of an issue; Tony was growing on him so fast it was scary. Just an evening and a night together, that's all it took for Steve really see what Tony was offering, who the billionaire really was. It wasn't all going to be easy, he knew that. He knew they'd fight because they already had, and he knew that it might get ugly but he wasn't ever the type to give up because things got a little harder.

Their shower ended after the water nearly ran cold, they stood together, soaking wet, still kissing and still touching. Steve smiled after he rinsed Tony's back and ran a hand through the sopping brown hair, "I think we should get out before you turn into a raisin."

"Why wouldn't you?" Tony grinned and pinched one of Steve's pecs with amusement, pushing the muscle up and running his thumb over the sensitive nub.

"Because," the soldier gasped lightly, "I don't wrinkle."

"Pfft! And you think I do?" Tony gaped, his face betraying the appalled tone in his voice, that charming smile spreading his lips.

Steve started tracing a few on the genius' face, "Here, and here, and-"

"Alright!" Tony smacked his hand aside, laughing and leaning in to nuzzle their noses together. "I get it, your godly body will forever be unwrinkled."

"Damn right." Steve kissed him one last time before shutting the water off, "I'd bet the others are up already, we should probably go say hi."

"You promised me breakfast," Tony poked his captain's chest pointedly.

"I didn't forget." Steve stepped out and grabbed the bigger towel, wrapping it around his waist and strolling out of the bathroom, "Old clothes, here I come."

* * *

"Uh... sir?" Agent Hill fidgeted a little nervously with the hem of her uniform, "I don't think this is such a good idea."

Fury stood with his arms folded behind his back, eyes sternly staring forward as if he knew exactly what he was doing, and he probably did. No one would dare question it. His silence however was enough of a go-ahead for Hill to continue. "Shouldn't we have informed Captain Rogers sooner? Or at all? We can't just spring this on him."

"Sure we can." The director closed the screen that showed him the recent footage of the recovery room. Recently they had gotten wind of the recovery of something, some _one_. James Buchanan Barnes had been presumed dead though a body was never found; the theories and rumours were rested after SHIELD had caught wind of some strange goings on in the Russian area of odd happenings. Several months ago agents had been sent in on reconnaissance and the presence of Barnes had become painstakingly obvious after just a few hours inside. They'd sent in a recovery team to retrieve the World War II veteran though it hadn't been in time, the Russian scientists had managed to finish their experiments.

Barnes' unconscious body had been taken back to SHIELD headquarters and looked after. Recently the man had woken again and was surprisingly more willing to accept their helping hand, not like the wildly distrusting captain. Though not to say that Bucky's wide eyes weren't distrusting, he appeared to just want a break and if he didn't have to fight just yet then he wouldn't start the battle on his own. Over the few weeks that he'd been up they managed to explain a few things though he was still fairly clueless. As he began moving around a bit more, the doctors noted that the experiments performed on him weren't unlike Project Rebirth, though something was flawed in the serum's design. Of course, not nearly as flawed as Banner's had been.

"Sir, I think Captain Rogers will be more than a little cross with us for keeping all this from him."

"He'll be a little distracted when he sees his friend, I think." Fury glanced at her, a little peeved that she'd stand on his bad side and make him turn more than necessary, "Have you gotten a hold of Barton and Romanoff yet? I want them to escort him, might ease the Captain's nerves."

"So you're trying to cover your ass for not telling Mr. Rogers sooner." It wasn't a question, Hill lifted her phone to get Clint on the line.

Fury didn't say a word which only let her think that she was completely right.

* * *

Clint flinched and immediately answered his phone, his face suddenly turning to stone as he left the beach house, "Agent Barton here."

Steve watched the man's retreating back as he laid out supper, part of him hoping that the phone call wouldn't last too long, Clint's dinner would get cold. The soldier in him slapped that out of his head promptly and he shook it free, the man could handle cold food. Of course, that didn't mean Steve hadn't gone through the trouble of preparing it for them all. An old fashioned meal was always good for everyone, home cooked and eaten at the dinner table. It was the best way to do it and the only reason he was upset was because Clint would miss out, not that Steve had an inherit mothering instinct that he'd like to strangle every now and again.

But it didn't matter  _that_  much, Tony was there and enjoying it and that's all Steve could really ask for.

"You know what this needs?" Tony asked, "Theme music."

"Right," Pepper smirked and went to the stereo, "But since you guys have been secretive about your feelings for one another, I'm picking the music."

"Oh come on!" Tony griped, going to pester her away from the entertainment unit though Steve's hand on his shoulder slowed him down quite a bit. "But she has awful taste in music!"

"So do you." Steve raised an eyebrow, getting a seriously displeased expression in return, "I've heard your stuff; I want to hear hers today."

"Oh! The good captain's on my side!" Pepper clapped her hands gleefully and turned the volume up, "I suppose we should see if we can make Clint look a little less stiff over there."

"Hardly possible." Natasha smiled a little, "Though you can try."

As the music started up Tony recognized, to his disdain, what it was. "Seriously?" He whined.

Steve chuckled as the upbeat music snapped over the speakers, the sound was something unlike anything he cared to listen to most of the time but it wasn't bad. Or, at least not  _that_  bad. He'd heard some real horrible stuff people seemed to call music. "It's catchy."

"The song's called 'For Your Entertainment'," Pepper informed him as she danced a little, "It's like... Hey, it's like a you and Tony song."

"No." Tony shook his head and waggled a finger at her then at Steve, "Stop listening to this."

"Come on Tony, you like music as long as it's loud, what does it matter who's singing it or what the beat is?" His assistant poked at him and he knew she was partially right; he listened to things like this in clubs, at his own parties, all over the place. If it was loud and booming over an enormous speaker system then often he didn't care all that much. But to be so comfortable in his own skin, as just Tony next to his just Steve, he was a little self conscious about what he was seen listening to.

"It's kind of fun," Steve was nodding his head but nothing more, afraid to dance or possibly just uncomfortable.

Bruce smiled at them though he was more aware of when Clint walked in and whispered something to his partner, both assassins looking at one another, their gazes shifting toward Steve then back to themselves. He walked over and leaned a palm down on the table next to Natasha's plate, "What is it?"

"Fury's asking for us." Clint answered immediately; fast enough that Bruce figured it had been a planned sentence though he didn't push it. Fury wasn't a man you kept waiting, regardless of reasons.

"Steve'll understand if you guys have to take off," Bruce gave his best friendly grin, though the look in his eyes spoke for every unsaid feeling he had.

Natasha eased herself out of her chair and gave the doctor a nod, "We'll let you know when we get back."

"Don't hurry on my account." Bruce waved them off, clearly not satisfied but not willing to push. Neither assassin really wanted to play this game with the other guy, exchanging another glance before Clint folded.

"From my understanding it's a delivery thing, we're to go pick up the subject and..." Clint scratched the back of his head, "Bring them here."

"Why here?" Bruce furrowed his brow.

"Why here what?" Tony piped in, the song long over and his attention caught.

"The director wants Barton and I to deliver a package here, we're not aware of the details yet." Natasha explained and Bruce nodded, believing her.

"Better not keep the director waiting," Steve was next to speak, none of them missing the tone of their captain in his voice.

"Right, we'll be back in no time. Meanwhile, you guys should go out and enjoy the beach." Clint smiled, "Or wait for us, that'd be cool too."

"We've got patience." Pepper added, "See you when you get back."

They waved off the assassins with a minor tinge of anxiety. Steve looked at the others and shrugged, "Whatever they bring here I'm sure it won't be that big of a deal. What could Fury have that he decided to get two Avengers to deliver it to the rest?"

"What indeed." Tony mused with a smile, "In the meantime we shouldn't let the food go to waste. Dig in, Stark Tower refugees!"


	9. Chapter 9

"James Barnes?" Clint asked as he approached the slightly bewildered man sitting in what looked like a waiting room. Obviously he had no patience for the relaxing rooms they tried to set him up in. Startled eyes looked toward the assassins approaching, glancing up and down both of their forms and assessing them as they closed in. He was able to tell just by how they moved that they were far from the regular agents he'd been dealing with until that point. The brunette rose and gave them a firm nod but he said nothing, jaw a little tense, steeled blue eyes carefully choosing where they looked.

He was untrusting, which made sense considering he knew absolutely no one in this time. "You must be the agents that I've been told are taking me somewhere?"

"Not just somewhere,  _to_  someone." Clint gave a half smile of reassurance though he figured there was no real point in wasting his energy on that. "How much have you been told?"

"Not nearly enough." Bucky's brow furrowed but he made no move to do or say anything else.

"Well we're taking you to see Steve." Natasha added as she started turning back toward the quinjet.

Bucky's face brightened then, his tough guy act withering swiftly, "Steve? As in Steve Rogers?" The hopeful, lost expression he wore was reminiscent of a puppy's.

"The one and only Captain America," Clint smirked and followed his teammate, "Come on, it'll be a few hours before you see him but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait."

"Where is he? How did he get here?" Bucky followed easily then, his cooperation won over with just that tiny mention of a name. "Can I talk to him?"

"You'll have to wait until we get there to talk to him, but yeah you can." The archer glanced over his shoulder as he repositioned a pair of sunglasses on his face, "Cap's in Malibu right now, beach vacation. He was frozen in ice in 1944 and was thawed last year at some point, been getting used to this era and everything else just like you, he might even be able to explain things better than we could."

Bucky smiled and climbed into the strange looking flying machine, at that point he was just happy to be able to see someone familiar. And his best friend, no less. Maybe being frozen in time wasn't all bad, the war was over, they'd won (apparently they'd won several since then), and he had someone to go to.

* * *

The last few hours had consisted of absolutely nothing productive. Steve sat staring out the window for quite some time, his smile never fading, arm firmly around Tony's shoulders as the genius continued his usual chatter with the others present, Bruce and Pepper. Tony took a moment to glance at Steve, watching the way he looked over at the ocean and had to wonder if their swim the other day had been enough for him.

"So, there's spare swim wear around the place, all shapes and sizes to fit you guys, what do you say we go out and play on the beach?" Tony offered with a smile.

"Shouldn't we wait until the others get back?" Bruce asked, checking the time, "It should be pretty soon."

"Well they can definitely join us-" Tony stopped when he heard the sound of the quinjet returning. "Well speak of the devils."

Steve smirked at him but rose, more interested in seeing the package that they were delivering. It had been eating at him a little that Fury hadn't asked him to help or even told him about it. But there was nothing to do about it now; he would have to be satisfied that he was even allowed to see what it was. "Come on, we should go meet them." He announced as he trotted out the door, Tony hadn't missed the little bit of Captain that seeped into his tone.

' _Feeling a bit left out, huh?'_  Tony smiled and followed, eyes gliding over the curve of Steve's form as the man marched down to the landing site, noting the slight bounce in Steve's ass that he'd never really paid attention to before.  _'And it's mine. I really couldn't imagine this going any better.'_

The doors opened, no one approaching the jet was expecting much of anything but when Steve froze for a moment, a stuttered gasp escaping the captain as his eyes fixed on a single form, a brown haired man jumping out of the still opening doors. "Steve!"

"Oh my gosh..." Steve could hardly find it in himself to breathe as he bolted forward, tears springing to his eyes immediately, "Bucky!" They collided in a hug, arms swung around their friend and squeezing in a friendly and long over-due hug. "I can't believe it," Steve nearly sobbed, he couldn't get a handle on his emotions, excitement and joy overwhelmed him as they held onto each other.

"Steve, you don't look any different," Bucky smiled and took the position he remembered always taking, the place of Steve's comforter. He felt so much better just being able to see his friend again but the fact that he could see their friendship really hadn't changed, not even with the whole Captain America thing and 70 some years in the future, that was more than enough for him.

"I missed you." Steve leaned back finally; they were both almost hesitant to let the other go. "How are you here?"

"Long story short, you and I have a lot in common with ice." Bucky grinned and glanced past Steve at the scowling, brown-eyed man. "Uh... what'd I do?"

Steve raised an eyebrow and looked back toward Tony, recognizing jealousy and rage when he saw it. "Oh! Tony this is my best friend, Bucky. Bucky," The blonde slipped an arm around Tony's waist and pulled him closer, "This is my boyfriend, Tony Stark."

The genius' face brightened at that, his cheeks even a bit pink. He'd been introduced as Steve's boyfriend, his captain making sure to show Bucky exactly who he was and how things were going. It was enough to shut Tony up and have him silently and proudly leaning against that muscled frame. Tony really couldn't be happier. Bucky was a best friend, not a threat.  _'I'm jealous. Why am I jealous? We've been dating for like a day. Maybe I'm jealous because he's perfect and he didn't think his friend was coming back and might leave...?'_  Tony tried to ignore his retarded thoughts, knowing full well that they were just that, retarded.

"Boyfriend? Really?" For a moment the other soldier's expression was hard to read, Tony felt Steve tense slightly at the pause in speech but Bucky's face brightened and he clapped Steve on the shoulder, "No kidding, congrats Steve."

"Thanks," Steve beamed and looked down at Tony who smiled charmingly in return. "We uh... well it's pretty serious, I'm really glad to have him."

"I believe it." Bucky reached forward for Tony's hand, "Bucky Barnes, nice to meet you Mr. Stark." The genius shook his head firmly, noting the question in the other man's eyes.

"Likewise. And before you ask, yes, I'm related to Howard Stark, he was my father." Tony said evenly, it was still a little odd to be talking about Howard so fondly, the man had been a terrible father though Tony hated him quite a bit less after seeing that video a little while back. It was even weirder to know someone like Steve who only had nice things to say about the man.

"I kind of thought so, resemblance is uncanny." Bucky squinted a bit as he looked Tony's face over, "Though I gotta say, you're still quite a bit different."

"Alright, enough eye-balling my boyfriend." Steve caught his friend's attention, the statement catching in Tony's chest like a wave of butterflies. "There's so much we need to catch up on, that I need to tell you. I don't even know where to start."

"Well we're on the beach," Tony pointed out with a smile, "How about we start there?"

"I haven't been swimming since..." Bucky paused and grinned, "Well," he looked at Steve, "That last time-"

"Yeah we get it," Steve cut him off, his cheeks flushing red. If Tony hadn't already heard the skinny dipping story from Steve's mouth he would have been curious and/or jealous all over again. Natasha and Clint both raised an eyebrow at that, neither saying it though they really wanted to know.

"Beach time sounds awesome," Clint smiled and started heading toward the beach house, "Got swimming stuff for all of us?" He looked at Tony over his shoulder, the genius already nodding before their gazes connected.

"Yep, I generally never know if there's going to be a lot of different people here or whatever so yeah, should be some for you. Plus you're probably my size anyway."

"Sweet." Clint trotted inside, Natasha strolling along behind him, her lips curled into a smile as she watched the way Steve and Bucky interacted, it was nice to see long-lost friends reunited.

"Bucky..." Steve said a little more solemnly after the others had walked away, his eyes started to look a little darker, "I... I'm so sorry that I didn't-"

Bucky put a hand over Steve's mouth, though not soon enough to stop the man before his voice had cracked, the watery look to his eyes becoming more of a threat of spilling over. "Steve, don't. We were fighting a war, not everyone lives and I drew the short straw." He smiled and slid his hand to pat his friend's cheek before dropping to give his shoulder a squeeze, "You did everything you could, and if Captain America couldn't save me then I doubt I was gonna be saved at all. Besides, if I hadn't fallen then I wouldn't be here with you now, right?"

Steve smiled a little and nodded, "Yeah, that's true."

"There's that stupid smile, c'mere" Bucky pulled Steve over and they hugged again, this one seeming to mend the little things, the big things, generally everything and when they let go again it was like their friendship was completely repaired. Hard feelings were gone, regrets forgotten; Tony had to wonder if he had that sort of friend in anyone. Well, it didn't totally matter; he had a gorgeous boyfriend who was capable of that kind of forgiveness.

"So, beach?" Steve grinned and looked back toward Tony who gave his best smile in return, more than excited to strip Steve down to nearly nothing again. Sex with that man was too close to perfect.

Inside, Clint found Bruce sitting casually on the couch, biding his time. "What was the package?" The doctor asked casually, as if he didn't really care. And he probably didn't all that much, after all he hadn't really gone outside to check like the others had.

"A man named Bucky Barnes." Clint answered, "Thawed, experimented on by the Russians. He hasn't told Steve that part yet, I think but it'll come up."

Bruce was looking at him with curious eyes, "How'd Steve take it? Kind of wish I'd followed now."

"Why didn't you?"

"Figured that if it was a present from Fury I didn't want to be there in the initial blastwave, just in case you know."

"Ah," Clint chuckled, "Fury's not gonna send us a bomb or anything that might have a blast radius. But about Rogers, he was about like you'd expect a ten year old to be after not seeing his best friend after a summer holiday."

"That cute, huh?"

"Yep." The archer wandered into Tony's private bedroom and looked through the drawers there for something to swim in. Bruce sat tapping his fingers along his knee thoughtfully.

"So, experimented on... What kind?"

"Like Cap, he's sort of like a super soldier except his metabolism isn't nearly as high, he's not a perfect male specimen like Steve is but he's as close as anyone's gotten- HOLY SHIT!"

"What?" Bruce stood up suddenly and hurried down the hall, the sudden outburst a bit worrisome. "What is it?"

Clint appeared in the doorway holding up two different pairs of trunks, one was a dark red with gold imprinted on it, clearly Iron Man inspired if the facial design on the rear was any indication. The second was blue, a red and white striped waist band, and a circular symbol on the backside. "Captain America and Iron man swim trunks."

"I get Iron Man." Bruce smirked wide.

* * *

After a few minutes of everyone getting ready, hands were being shaken, people introduced, Bruce and Clint made the scene while keeping straight faces, as if they didn't have the Iron Man and Captain America symbols covering their butts. Pepper glanced up from just meeting Bucky and had to cover her mouth, surprised to see the garments in the daylight.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her looked up through his designer shades, his mouth falling open for a brief second before he couldn't help the snort of laughter that left him. "Looking good, Dr. Banner." He called with a thumbs up.

Bruce returned the gesture and continued on to the beach front, tossing down a towel and setting up an umbrella, he was not entirely fond of sunlight and did his best to avoid it. Clint did something similar except with a long fold-out chair and without the additional shade. He adjusted the sunglasses on his face and leaned back with a beer in hand, smile on his face. "Didn't know you were a Cap fan, Clint." Pepper giggled, also receiving a thumbs up gesture in response. Clearly the two men were quite fond of their swim wear of choice.

Steve blushed and looked at Tony with slight amusement, "You have swim trunks with-"

"What? My dad was a fan, told me stories, made me a fan." Tony shrugged, "Not that hard to figure out."

"Well no but... Those look brand new." Steve pointed out, his smile growing as he watched the recognition on Tony's face that he'd been caught.

"Fine. Maybe I've been a fan of you for a while."

The captain leaned over and kissed his cheek, trailing them down his neck and along his bare collarbone, a long and lusty shudder rising in him. "Mm..." Steve licked back up the same trail he'd made down, "Should have said something sooner."

"You're a tease," Tony laughed softly and pressed their lips together, letting Steve's tongue push past his teeth and into the warmth of his mouth, feeling the dominating motion and finding himself to be a little weak in the knees as Steve's hands felt up his sides. "Steve-" he moaned his boyfriend's name as the blonde leaned back to take a breath, returning quickly to recapture his lover's mouth and swallow every sound he made, groan softly into their kiss. Adventurous hands stroked up Tony's sides and back down to his hips, squeezing them and roughly getting to know the expanse that was his torso, pausing only to run a battle-worn thumb over Tony's left nipple, the soft nub hardening quickly beneath the aggressive touch. " _Steve_!" he gasped as he gulped down air greedily, his lover leaning down to bit and suck at his neck.

Bucky's face was a little red though he was grinning like a loon. "Steve, you lounge lizard."

"What?" Clint lowered his sunglasses with a laugh.

"Uh..." Bucky glanced at the other confused expressions, "Well it's a slang term from the 40's, you kids wouldn't get it."

Steve laughed softly and lifted his head, somehow all the more glad that he had someone else here with him. "It's before your time," he said to the team before going back to kissing Tony. He was aware it was a public thing, that they were in front of the others and his entire upbringing told him not to. However, this was supposed to be the extended part of his and Tony's date, they were supposed to be alone on this beach. Everyone else had intruded on their privacy; he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. And judging by the sounds that were coming from Tony he figured his boyfriend didn't mind so much.

"Steve," Tony breathed and reached up around the larger man's neck, getting a little more into it, bodies flushed together in setting sun.

Bucky reached an arm between them, prying them apart enough so that he could lift Tony up and away from Steve, "Oh, got your boyfriend!" He cried out as he ran toward the water.

"Bucky!" Steve laughed, bright eyes watching Tony's completely shocked expression as he was manhandled away. "Give him back, he's mine!" He ran after his friend, not missing the new strength, not by a long shot. Tony wasn't the lightest of men; despite the fact that he was smaller than Steve he was still well-built. Bucky could never have lifted him so easily. Whatever it was that had happened, Bucky was stronger for it. When the time called for them to be able to sit down and talk seriously, Steve made a mental note to mention it.


	10. Chapter 10

Beach day was more fun than the Avengers had had in a very long time. Natasha and Pepper remained on the beach, sunglasses on and sunbathing in their bikinis. Clint, when not checking out the ladies, was having the time of his life in the water with Bucky and Bruce, Bruce was a little more inclined to sit quietly in the sand but he ended up joining the others. Steve had insisted on sand castles, that they make a competition out of it and see who's was better.

"So we doing this with actual sculpting, adding some cement and other things to the sand so it stays, or are we doing the old school water in a bucket deal?" Tony asked, more than ready to get the cement.

Steve rolled his eyes, "What do you think my answer's going to be?"

Tony shrugged, "Maybe you really like to sculpt things and making it last longer is your thing?" Judging by the look Steve gave him he knew he was wrong. Old school all the way, apparently.

"Come on, it's the classic way to do it. Neither of ours are going to look good but we might as well give it a shot." Those baby blues were pleading and it was too much for the billionaire.

"Alright," he went over and drew little designs on his boyfriend's broad and bare chest, pinching the sensitive nub on his left side. "But one condition," he leaned up, body pressed against Steve's, their naked chests warm and burning all the more from being so close, "I get to take you tonight."

Steve's breath hitched slightly, big eyes angled his way, "What?"

"We're in a relationship, it's equal. I think we should try something new." Tony smiled wickedly, "What do you say?"

"I say we'll see when we get there." Steve chuckled, not sure he was willing to relinquish the control, to experience something new over what he knew he enjoyed. But Tony was right, a relationship meant they were equals and that meant he shouldn't hog all of the dominance, Tony might take it as him thinking he's better than Tony or something. "But... I'll try." He whispered back.

Tony caught the hesitance in Steve's voice and turned to kiss him tenderly, "It's okay, you know I love it when someone tops me, when  _you_  take me, Steve. I just want to feel you come undone, to feel it the way I do."

Steve's cheeks were hot and red as he nuzzled them against Tony's, eyes closed and trusting. "Okay, I'll let you take me."

Tony grinned as his hands trailed along the perfect body of his lover, almost not able to wait until he had the mass of muscle in bed again. "Apparently sex is a big part of our relationship."

"Shouldn't it be?" Steve smirked, "Now come on," he pulled away, almost not able to but he didn't want to get a hard-on while running around in his swim trunks, that would be too much. "It's bucket time."

The follow few hours consisted of Tony ruining Steve's castle by running through it or throwing things at it, Steve returning the favour by blatantly marching on it or shoving Tony onto it, and the others running up to destroy them as well. Steve sighed and looked at his boyfriend with a soft laugh, "How about we make one together?"

"That sounds much better." Tony agreed, kicking over what was left of his mush castle in frustration. After that they worked together until the castle didn't look all that bad, standing fairly tall though they doubted it was sturdy. That was proven when Clint and Bucky ran through it again. Steve threw the bucket at them.

"Next person that breaks our sand castle gets a serious reprimand and kick in the behind!" He shouted, trying not to laugh as his friends cracked up severely. "Jerks!"

Tony chuckled and kissed Steve's cheek, "Guess we'll start a new one?"

"Maybe," Steve smiled back at him though the urge to build a castle was far diminished in his mind. "Did you want to... I dunno, go inside for a bit?"

"You haven't seen Bucky in ages, you sure?" Tony reminded and nearly regretted it, noting the slightly pained look on Steve's face as he realized. "Come on, he's your best friend, right? I'd like to get to know him a bit better."

Steve smiled even brighter at that, "You mean it?"

"Definitely." Tony turned and ran toward the other soldier," Barnes!"

"Yeah?" Bucky looked up a bit surprised, even more surprised when Tony clambered up onto his shoulders.

"We're gonna play chicken and you're my partner." Tony announced, "To the water, chicken!"

Bucky made a face and looked over at Steve who doubled over on his way to his friend's side, laughing hysterically. Clint grinned and looked over at Natasha, "Nat! Wanna play?"

She lowered her sunglasses and glanced at Pepper, "Do I dare get in on this?"

Pepper just shook her head, "I'm not. You just  _know_  that Steve's going to be playing and I don't think I feel like going up against that."

"Hm..." Natasha stood and tossed her sunglasses down, heading to the water's edge, "Might as well see, his partner might fall off easier than I would."

"True enough." Pepper leaned back, "Good luck."

Steve looked over at Bruce, "Wanna play?"

"Seriously-eee!" Bruce's protest was completely ignored as Steve lifted him easily onto his shoulders. The scientist's legs wrapped around the best they could, his hands finding something to hold on to immediately. Steve's hair. "Not okay! This is not okay!"

"You're fine, Dr. Banner." Steve assured him, "Calm down, you couldn't be on anyone better, I promise."

Bruce slowly relaxed his grip and nodded, "Right. Okay... I'm fine." He looked up at Tony and Natasha who were both smiling, Natasha much lower because Clint wasn't nearly as tall, though Bucky hadn't seemed to grow much in height either. "O...kay..." he mumbled, fingers tightening again. "I-I don't play these games! I want off."

"But you insisted on joining us here so you might as well play," Steve walked further into the water where it'd be safer to play Chicken, joining Bucky and Clint with a smile on his face.

"Ready, doc?" Natasha smirked at Bruce who hadn't let go of Steve's head.

"Nope." He laughed nervously, looking over at Tony who seemed too 'in his element'. "Why didn't you pick Steve?"

"I'm getting to know his best friend." Tony stated, "That and I can see Steve from here, quite pretty."

Steve's cheeks flushed but his expression remained calm, "Big mistake," he warned playfully.

"Alright, 3, 2, 1, GO!" Clint shouted and rushed Steve first; figuring taking Bruce down would be the simplest thing. And it would have been, if the man hadn't had a firm grip on his captain and his captain a firm grip on him. Bruce ended up nearly upside down off Steve's back in the first few seconds and while the others thought he was out already, Natasha turning on Tony immediately, Steve had, with a flex of his back and simple pull of his arms, knocked Bruce back up onto his shoulders.

Tony clung pretty hard but the two spies were a hell of a team. Of course their teamwork meant nothing if Clint was knocked down, which, after stopping his attention on Steve, he was. Steve whirled on Bucky, their hands clasping and they ended up pushing against one another fiercely. Steve could feel every flex in his friend's muscles, both starting to look a little surprised when they realized Bucky was holding his own.

Bruce and Tony locked arms, each grasping the other man's forearm and trying to twist him off his perch. Bruce strained a little, his gaze firmly locked with Tony's who was enjoying the entire thing. "Our mounts are close to even." Tony pointed out.

Bruce grunted as he risked a glance down to see, he grinned and looked up at Tony with smug eyes, "Not really, mine's better."

"Hard to argue that, though I'd say he's better at mounting." Tony's mind was calculating how hard it would be to take Bruce down, really. The man wasn't actually the Hulk's strength; he was just a man most of the time. Tony wasn't the strongest either but he definitely had to lift the Iron Man suit to walk and move in general, he was stronger than Bruce in the long run. This little game was a game of time.

And only time would tell, Steve managed to knock Bucky down just as Tony threw Bruce off, Clint and Natasha both started clapping once it'd happened. "A tie! That's awesome, makes us the only losers." He looked at Natasha who shoved him a little.

"You, I was still firmly on your shoulders." She retorted.

"How does that make me a loser?" Clint grinned, earning him a playful slap.

The rest of their day teetered off from there, everyone a little tired of the sunshine and exhaustion, all taking turns in the shower, Tony and Steve politely going at the same time in order not to make the line up wait too long. They'd taken about the same amount as it would have been had they done it separately but no one really said anything. Steve and Bucky were talking, about a lot of things, telling stories, reminiscing but never fully ignoring the other people around them. They weren't going to go into their own little secluded conversation; they were both aware of everyone present. Tony decided to play the part of the good boyfriend.

"Hey guys, I have an idea, how about we go for a pizza run?" He grinned at them, earning strange looks.

"We could just order in." Pepper corrected him, "It's pretty easy."

"No, no, what's the fun in that?"

"We don't have a vehicle big enough for all of us, unless you own a van." Bruce chuckled at the thought of Tony Stark in a van.

"Yeah we do," Tony smirked.

"The quinjet?" Clint raised an eyebrow, "You want to go get pizza in the quinjet?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, you'd have to fly it, you down?"

Eyes shifted toward Clint who looked very serious for a moment, "Hell yeah. Let's do it."

They were all getting up when Tony waved a hand at Steve and Bucky, "How about you two stay here? Catch up a bit."

Steve was about to protest, that he wanted to be with Tony, but realized what his boyfriend was up to. Instead of complaining he went to Tony's side and kissed his cheek, "Thank you."

"No problem, gorgeous." Tony kissed back and hurried out the door, "We'll be back with pizza!"

"And chicken wings!" Bucky demanded. "I want chicken wings!"

The others now understood what Tony was trying to do though they still agreed to go, figuring it was the best idea at that time. Steve needed to talk to his friend and they were sort of in the way of that. Sort of. Nothing would ever stop their captain from doing what he needed to, as far as they know, especially their presence. But Tony was trying so they obliged this time. The least they could do after being cock-blockers for a day straight.

"So..." Steve sat down at Bucky's side once he'd heard the jet's engines fading, a cup of coffee in his hands and a stern expression on his face. "How did you get that strong?"

Bucky shrugged and looked down anxiously, "In Russia they did experiments on me," he noted the steel look in those blue eyes, a smile creeping onto his lips at the sight. Steve, if anyone in this world, cared about him. That's all he really needed. "You must have gone insane," he remarked, "To be thinking that everyone is dead, that no one who you know is there anymore... I'd go nuts."

"Well you have me." Steve rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

"But you didn't, you didn't have anyone. I'm... I'm sorry for that." Bucky looked up at him sadly, "To be living and know that no one alive loves you, I'm so sorry, Steve."

There was a remorseful look on Steve's face and a glistening wetness in his gaze, "It was tough but I made new friends, new people to love me and care about me, and new people for me to love and care for. I won't lie, it's hard at first. You feel run down, like you don't belong, but you do, you can belong anywhere if you try hard enough." He put his cup down and leaned over to hug his friend firmly, their cheeks resting against one another's and taking comfort in it. "I love you, Bucky. You're my best friend; I should be the one who's sorry."

"Shut up," Bucky hit his back playfully, "I already told you, if that hadn't happened I'd never be here with you now. I'd rather it had happened this way, you aren't alone anymore."

They held onto one another for a moment longer before giving each other a firm pat on the back and sitting back in their chairs. "So," Steve smirked, "I think you'd fit in with our little family."

"Family? You and Tony-"

"Not just us, I mean the Avengers. We're a team; I'm sort of their leader, Tony's Iron Man, a very high tech suit of armour. Clint and Natasha are trained assassins, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Bruce was another person who attempted the super soldier serum but it went wrong so now he turns into something we call 'the Hulk' or in his case, 'the other guy'. And then there's Thor, a demi-god from another world."

"A demi-god?" Bucky smirked, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"You will," Steve smiled, "Because you're joining us."

Bucky could only continue to smile back, the way Steve just brightened up at the idea of working together again, it was just too damn cute for a captain. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"I do," Steve leaned back and sighed with a soft laugh.

"So you and Tony, how's that going?"

"It's great, more than I had ever expected. I just sort of stuck my neck out there," Steve was remembering the anxiety he felt in that restaurant, "And at first I was terrified, Tony and I were teammates first and we didn't always get along, we butt heads on points of authority most of the time. But he showed up for my blind date and we sat it out, deciding we were just Steve and Tony. After that everything fell into place. He's perfect."

"Sure he's not just in it for the beautiful blonde thing?" Bucky prodded with a chuckle.

"He's very physical but it wouldn't matter, our personalities were meant for each other." Steve fully believed what he was saying, despite how cheesy it sounded.

"Let's say you ended up being like you were when we were younger, before the serum, what then?"

"Same answer. Tony wouldn't leave me based on my looks." Steve stated firmly.

"Alright then, you have some serious faith in the guy." Bucky decided to take a step back, no need to push those buttons.

"Would you leave me if I weren't Captain America?" Steve asked after a moment.

"You know I wouldn't, moron. I was your friend before the experiment; I'll always be your friend."

Steve smiled and hugged him again, "Thanks, Bucky. I really missed you."

"Missed you too, big guy." Bucky exhaled softly, happier than ever to have Steve with him during this new era thing.


	11. Chapter 11

Their 'beach day' had actually been a 'beach evening' because the sun was already setting when Bucky had first arrived and they went off to play anyway, by the time Steve and Bucky had their talk it was crazy late. Steve had to wonder if there were any pizza places even open anymore. Of course, it was Tony, if anything he'd have something flown in.

"They're taking their jolly sweet time." Bucky chuckled; the two of them had spent the last hour and a half together talking about everything they could possibly think of. Of course they could keep going but they were both feeling incredibly hungry.

"I think they're trying to give us time together but I don't think they realize that we eat like horses." Steve smiled, glancing outside, his ears burning to hear the sounds of the quinjet. "So, what did director Fury tell you?"

"Well I haven't met him properly, exactly. I mean they broke the news to me and everything like that but afterward I hadn't heard much from him." Bucky shook his head, leaning back on the couch and relaxing, looking up at the curious blue eyes that seemed to constantly sparkle every time they lingered. Bucky smirked, "You have a crush on me or something?"

Steve snapped back and shook his head, "No, no, I'm just really happy to see you. Sorry I-"

"I'm teasing, tough guy." Bucky slapped his bicep playfully, laughing outright. "We solved that forever ago."

Steve chuckled, "See that's what I thought but your joking face is too darn convincing." He paused and looked up, both of them alerted like dogs listening for their owners. "They're back." Steve tried not to sound excited but he swore his stomach was just as loud as the quinjet.

"Finally." Bucky rose and hurried outside to greet them, waving as Tony was the first one off. The genius smirked and waved back.

"Tired of Steve already?"

"We're  _starving_." Bucky snatched up a few of the pizzas in Tony's hands, looking at them curiously as he quickly went back toward the beach house. Back in the war he hadn't really had time for things like pizza, rations was the way to go and when he was with SHIELD he'd been forced to eat fairly healthy stuff. Pizza was neither and he was really curious to know what it tasted like in the 21st century. "Steve! Pizza!"

Steve was standing in the doorway, grinning wide enough to match Bucky's overly eager expression. Tony watched as he approached, the way the two best friends interacted. There was something inherently good about seeing it, Steve wasn't alone in the future now, he wasn't going to feel like he was losing himself with Bucky around. Tony felt a warmth running through him just seeing that big smile, if Steve was happy then clearly there was nothing he could do wrong. "Hey Cap!" Tony called, noting that those big blue eyes shot his direction before he even finished the word 'hey'. "Why didn't you call us if you were starving?"

"Because I didn't think you'd wait around for us," Steve raised an eyebrow, giving Tony a playful look, "I don't know you all to be so considerate of my feelings."

"Oh, a cheap shot, sir." Bruce chuckled; knowing full well that part of that statement was definitely directed at him.

Steve smiled at Bruce jokingly; he was pretty good at displaying when he wasn't serious. Then again, sarcasm wasn't exactly as big a thing back in his day so he hardly ever used it, or understood it for that matter. "Come on, let's eat."

Tony walked up to his captain and quickly gave him a kiss, a cute little thing before trotting inside, knowing Steve's eyes were locked on him as he went. There was something possessive in Steve's gaze, in his personality in general, Tony loved it more than he dared admit around the soldier.

The night carried on into daylight as they all seemed to lack the ability to grow tired. They were basically on vacation and it was time to stay up late and party. So they did. Bucky had too many stories about Steve; no one wanted to go to bed without hearing something new about Captain America.

"So tell me," Tony leaned forward with a mischievous grin, "Did Steve always like to be a dominant kind of guy?"

Bucky nearly spat up his drink, "Oh yeah," he laughed, "Steve was  _always_  into men and wanted to be on top. The first time he came out of the closet was to me, trying to flirt."

Steve rolled his eyes and dropped his face into his hands, "Bucky-"

"No, no, let him finish." Tony grinned.

"He was completely smashed," Bucky wavered a little as if he were acting it out, "Heavy eye lids, lazy movements, slurred words, all of it. I was helping him home and he just leans up and whispers in my ear, 'Can I be bold for a moment?'" The way he was telling it had the others laughing, mimicking a drunk Steve voice almost perfectly. "I told 'sure' and next thing I know he's trying to kiss me. Except he's really short so I just have to stand up straight. He laughed and apologized, I chalked it up to drunkenness. When we got home and I thought I'd put him to bed I went to lie down on his couch because it was real late and I didn't want to have to walk around at night. Now, I'm almost asleep when he crawls on top of me and-"

"Come on, Bucky," Steve practically whined, but his friend shook his head with a laugh.

"Part of old friends meeting new friends is they share stories Steve, sorry." Bucky offered an apologetic smile before continuing. "So anyway he's wriggling on me and demanding that I undress for him. I think I almost pissed myself laughing. I barely managed to ask him why and he says 'So I can penetrate you' and I nearly died." As he was laughing so were the others, it was an amusing image and who would pass up the opportunity to laugh at their captain? "So yeah, after that night I asked him about it in the morning and you should have seen his face, white as a sheet for two seconds before turning bright red. It was hilarious."

"Thanks for embarrassing me to no end." Steve sighed though he was good-humoured about it.

Tony snickered, "Aw, that's so cute."

"Well there's something about a tiny guy trying to dominate you that's inherently funny." Bucky nodded, "But that wasn't what I was laughing at. It's the fact that he assumed I was submissive, or at least wanted me to be that got me. I mean, he wasn't in his right mind but that's what made it even funnier."

"Well you scared me half to death when you confronted me," Steve laughed nervously, "Back then it wasn't so acceptable, I could have been shot for that, I swear."

"Nah, no one thought you were really all that threatening, you would've been punched a few times though." Bucky smirked, shoving Steve's shoulder.

"Not that different from normal, I guess." The blonde shoved back, only the two of them could really shove the other the way they did, if Steve had playfully knocked Tony down like that the genius would have been flat on his face. Something about both of them being super soldiers or something. Regardless though it was all in good fun.

Exhaustion finally rolled in and their minds started to wander, Steve yawned loudly, not on purpose but it still managed to catch a few people's attention. Tony smiled over at him, the blonde's cheeks reddening a little, "Sorry," he leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his lover's cheek, "I'm fine, I swear."

"Sounds like if I want sex out of you now's my only chance," Tony grinned, loving the way Steve reacted to the not so private announcement, those tired blue eyes lighting up in lust and embarrassment. "And I'll take that look as a yes. We'll see you guys later, have a good night and stuff." Tony hauled his blonde beauty to his feet and started dragging Steve to their bedroom.

"Have a good night, Steve!" Bucky called, feeling a swell of pride. For the time he'd known Steve he'd never forget that night, they joked but that time had been kind of scary for both of them.

_"So, mind telling me what that was all about?" Bucky leaned against the dirty table top, looking at the hunched over form of his friend, Steve's head hung heavily with nausea and the worst hang over to beat the band._

_"What, the drinking?" Steve mumbled, hazy eyes lazily glancing up before dropping closed again, too exhausted to open them all the way. "It wasn't anything, Bucky. I just-"_

_"Well more like the 'take your pants off and bend over' thing."_

_Steve stiffened, his breathing hitching for a moment as it started to increase sporadically, "What... what do you mean?"_

_"Last night, Steve. You kissed me and tried to do the dirty, you don't remember that?" Bucky looked serious, eyes narrowing down at the shaky man. He intended to spook his friend to see the reaction, figuring that it was just drunken frustrations and Steve just really needed to get laid, so he looked as scolding and condescending as he could. Of course, he hadn't anticipated the look the small blonde gave him, huge blue eyes snapping up toward him; fear the only emotion readable behind them. He could see Steve's anxiety clearly and that it was obviously getting worse, the light shaking had taken over his body and Steve's jaw started to quiver._

_"Bucky, I-" Steve seemed to stop for a moment as he tried to breathe, hyperventilation threatening him, "It-it's not" -he wheezed, "it's not what-"_

_"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Bucky ran to grab Steve's inhaler, booking it back to the suffering male at the table. He had expected it to be something brought on by the alcohol but it was real, Steve was actually gay. "Calm down, Steve." Bucky squatted down to hold the inhaler to Steve's mouth, watching as his friend struggled to use it, taking deep and agonized breaths. Steve fell against Bucky who gently lowered him into his lap on the floor, shushing him and trying to sound as supportive as he could, "I was just kidding around, Steve. If that's what you like then it's okay, I'm not gonna stone you or anything."_

_Steve wheezed and coughed before he started breathing properly again, his hand pressed against his chest as if to slow his heart rate, Bucky felt even worse for that. "I'm sorry," Steve looked up worriedly, "I didn't know I... That I did that. That's not acceptable-"_

_"Shut up," Bucky held him closer and laughed, "But... uh... try not to go around doing that next time you're drunk, I might not be the only one nearby."_

_Steve blushed and nodded, "Right. Thanks Bucky."_

_"I'm your best friend, you don't need to thank me for accepting you. But you're welcome."_

It was really nice to see Steve doing so well, to know that he was accepted and able to blatantly announce he was about to do the dirty with another man. Maybe being frozen and losing time hadn't been so easy on Steve but Bucky believed it was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.

"Tony, you're so open," Steve chuckled, lifting Tony up and dropping down with him on the bed, nuzzling him affectionately.

"What, you don't like that?" Tony grinned, deep brown eyes glancing between Steve's mischievously, receiving a kiss in return. Tony moved into it, moaning softly and crawling overtop his man, one leg between Steve's, the other pressed against his thigh. "So," Tony whispered, hands pushing up the tight t-shirt clinging to Steve's built-frame, eyes skating down the man's chest as he revealed it, "Given it any thought?"

Steve smiled and rested his head back, "Nope."

Tony glanced up disappointedly, "Not even a little?"

"Don't have to," Steve looked down, a playful glint in his eyes, "We're on even footing here, of course I'd let you take me."

Tony's face brightened and he rewarded Steve with another kiss, a soft laugh on in his throat, "You're a tease."

"And you're not?" Steve smirked.

Smiling, Tony's fingers danced along his lover's torso, hooking into Steve's shirt again and pulling it over his head. "You know, I just can't get enough of how gorgeous you are. How did I miss this when I first met you? Jesus..."

Steve hummed, eyes fluttering closed as his skin heated up, Tony's touch setting off little trails of fire. "I think it's because I was fighting Loki in my costume."

"Yeah, the cowl thing looks pretty funny on you." Tony mused, flicking the hardened nub of Steve's nipple, relishing in the softened groan it produced.

"You think so?" The blonde flushed and squirmed, starting to feel that familiar heat rolling round in his loins.

"Definitely," Tony smirked, "You look a lot better naked." He leaned up and ran his tongue over the sensitized skin of his lover's breast, very aware of the way Steve arched into it, wishing he could see the extent of that movement, the curve of his lower back, subtle twitch in his facial features and everything else Steve could show him.

"I'm starting to think you only like me for my body," the blonde joked, running a hand through the soft brown locks of Tony's hair, smiling down contentedly.

"Nah," Tony blew at the nipple and watched the little bumps form on previously smooth skin, running his thumb over it before leaning up to drag his teeth along it, biting it lightly. Steve whined and wriggled in the sheets, trying to ignore the hardened bulge pressing against the front of his slacks. "But you are beautiful."

"Stop it," Steve gasped, his cheeks feeling like an inferno, the heat spreading throughout his body as he writhed under the feel of Tony's hands on him.

"Stop what?" Tony smirked, biting again, a little harder and loving the desperate yelp it got him. As he continued to torment his captain he felt the demanding press of Steve's growing erection, rubbing his thigh up between Steve's to tease it. "You're so easy."

Steve moaned, a sound that should only be legal in pornography, "Tony..."

"Shhh," Tony ran a hand down Steve's front and unfastened his slacks, "Just keep making those sounds and that's all I'll need from you tonight, promise."

Steve nodded and relaxed, his hips twitching upward for more friction, something a bit more solid than the brush-by that Tony was giving him. "Oohhh..." He whimpered softly when Tony moved his leg away, "Tonyyyy please..."

"Ah, ah, ah, Cap." The playboy pulled the offending clothing off of Steve's body, watching as his captain's engorged cock bobbed free, slapping right up to hit his stomach. "Not yet." he murmured, swallowing thickly at the sight, "Fuck, how big are you exactly?"

Steve gasped and reached down, running a hand up from the base of his shaft to the tip, mind skimming over measurements before rasping out an answer, "About 12 inches..."

"Shit..." Tony chuckled, "How the hell did I ever take that in the ass?"

"No idea." Steve moaned breathlessly, stroking himself again, promptly being smacked away, Tony making some kind of scolding sound in his direction. "Sorry."

The billionaire chuckled and wrapped his fingers around the stiff flesh, starting a slow rhythmic pumping motion, finding that Steve reacted to every little touch. "You're easy to arouse but that's not necessarily a bad thing, guys your age usually can't get it up."

Steve didn't really say anything to that, thrusting up into Tony's hand eagerly. He was a bit nervous about switching positions, being the submissive one for Tony to try dominating, the guy was always all over the place so it made sense that he wouldn't be satisfied with the same position all the time, but still. Steve let his mind go blank to avoid thinking about it. If he didn't consider it, didn't think that it would affect him and just let it happen, he'd enjoy it.

And he wasn't entirely wrong about that, he yelped when Tony licked a finger and started swirling it around the rim of his entrance, the burning sensation felt so good he hadn't realized how loud he'd gotten. "So you  _do_  like it," Tony mused excitedly, bright eyes snapping up toward the reddened face of his lover, "You were just scared to try it, weren't you?" Steve nodded in reply though he was too busy enjoying the new sensations flashing through his body to be entirely sure what he was agreeing to. Tony hummed lightly as he continued, the hand stroking Steve slipping away to unfasten his jeans and join his boyfriend in naked splendor.

"Tony..." Steve whined when the hand job stopped, "What are you-"

"Shh," Tony hushed him again, pulling his pants down and kicking them off, hurrying over to his nightstand to fish the lube out again. "One sec, gorgeous, gotta get you ready."

Lust-filled eyes followed Tony's movement to the side of the bed, gazing down at the hardened erection sticking out, eager and ready to embed itself in its captain. Steve licked his lips, remembering the taste of it and wanting it again though he figured he'd be smacked aside again. Instead he reached over and ran tentative fingers up the throbbing vein, smirking when Tony shuddered and nearly fell over. "You're something else, you know that?" He muttered, running a finger over the moistened tip, realizing that Tony could almost get off completely on just making Steve come undone.

"I've been told," Tony sighed anxiously, applying the lubricant to his fingers and going back to his position between Steve's thighs, pushing his index inside. "You're tight," he smirked, watching his boyfriend squirm even more desperately, face scrunched in a tense kind of pleasure. Steve whimpered and pushed down on Tony's finger, the engineer finding that Steve's body was far more flexible than he'd thought and a second finger was already possible. "And you're so worked up." Tony inserted his middle finger and played around, trying his best to get Steve crying out before even putting his dick inside.

"Tony! Ohhhh Tony, please-ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah!" Steve's moans grew louder as Tony pushed deeper, adding a third finger to stretch him further.

Tony wasn't going to complain, he loved this side of Steve, loved that he could get Steve to this state, letting go of his anxieties, getting him to unwind and just enjoy himself. It was brilliant to hear the long, drawn out groans and whimpers coming from someone considered so strong and the epitome of everything a man should be. It was a hell of a turn on. "Ready Steve?"

The use of his name had the blush darkening on his cheeks, blue eyes snapped to attention in a different way than hearing 'cap' or 'beautiful' might have. Tony liked the look, like it was personalized, like Steve was really responding positively. "Yes," Steve gasped, "Please."

"Manners too, I like that." Tony licked his lips, he was more than ready for this as well, incredibly excited that Steve even let him in the first place. It really said something about his lover, how seriously he was taking their relationship. Tony hadn't felt so special before in his life, and he was Tony-freaking Stark, he was always special, but never the way Steve made him feel it. His expression softened from the mischievous look, taking on more of a soothing and appreciative tone, that glint of passion deep in those brown pools.

Steve's heart skipped a beat, in the midst of all the stimulation, the rapid breathing and loss of mental control, he still saw it; Tony's affection, his feelings were laid out in his eyes and Steve could nearly read it like a book. The fluttering in his chest was soon disrupted and lost again in the moment when Tony filled him up, slender hips snapping forward without much other warning. Steve's head flew back into the bed again, a sharp and pleasured cry tearing from his throat of its own accord.

" _OH GOD!"_  The blonde nearly shrieked, Tony managed to hit his prostate on the first try. His thighs pressed against the man between them though Steve had the presence of mind to not kill his boyfriend. Though death by thigh crushing from Captain America might not be  _so_  bad.

Tony knew Steve couldn't be far off, and quite frankly he wasn't either, though he still tried to get Steve used to it, keeping the same angle as best he could. Steve squirmed and cried out with every thrust, each more frantic than the last. " _Tony!_ " He reached down to touch himself, knowing Tony's hands were planted on either side of him for support. The sound of skin on skin was maddening, Tony could hear it clearly mixing with the harsh gasps and every little sound Steve made started to drive him wild.

"Steve," he gasped, ramming a little harder each time, knowing Steve could definitely take a pounding. The guy was a super soldier, if Tony could ram his ass as hard as he wanted then no one ever could to anybody else.

And so he did. Steve did scream that time, his entire body convulsing with wave of an orgasm that was quickly rushing to its climax. Everything felt overheated, like he was burning alive but it felt so damn good. A mix of feeling like he was about to die and like he was about to live better than he ever had before, Steve couldn't get enough of it, enough of Tony. He wanted more and somehow that translated to his mouth, "More, Tony.  _Harder_!"

Tony grinned and pushed himself past his limits, slamming harder and faster than he thought he was physically capable of.

Bucky raised an eyebrow from the other room, looking a little more than perturbed. He was glad Steve was getting a little frisky but this was very obnoxious. "They can't just do that so loud." He muttered, not noticing the smirks the others wore as he rose and headed over to the room. Bucky shoved the door open, "Hey! Keep it down-" He stalled and stared a little red faced at the sight of his best friend taking it more hard-core than anyone Bucky had ever seen in his entire life. That and of course the other soldier had to enter at the exact time of climax.

Steve's hand had shifted while jerking himself off and with the added pressure of being enhanced his release managed to reach his best friend that had attempted to interrupt. Bucky sputtered and closed the door, running a hand down his face in complete shock. Clint hit the floor laughing immediately, entirely unable to keep his balance after that. Bruce snorted and looked away, his shoulders shaking violently as he did his best not to laugh hysterically like Pepper was doing, Tony's assistant was smacking the couch armrest repeatedly in an effort to catch her breath. Natasha curled forward and shook similarly to Bruce, her face twisted in a pained pleasure as she also did her best not to laugh outwardly.

"You guys think this is funny?" Bucky looked at them, not realizing there was some in his hair and still running from the corner of his mouth.

Bruce snapped and burst into laughter, no longer capable of holding it back, and everyone was pretty damn sure that Clint just died.


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you freaking  _kidding me_?" Clint shouted into his communicator, just barely managing to hop over flying debris. "What do you mean you can't pull the switch yet?  _Pull the damn thing!_ We're getting murdered out here!" He cracked his bow into the frame of another enemy robotic, hand-to-hand combat commencing soon after.

"We can't pull it yet, there are a few… complications." Natasha explained hesitantly, looking to where the fight had blown apart, the trigger they needed to deactivate the mechanical menace was smack in the middle of an all-out struggle between their main foe and Iron man. A sea of discharging weapons all around the thing, there was no way Natasha could get close without being shot to pieces. "I can't get in there."

"Cap, you hearing this?"

"Already on it." Steve's voice broke over the wave of the fight easily; Clint could see his bright blue form leaping to the scene and nodded, at least Steve had his shield to get in on the 'complications' if Natasha couldn't.

"Hurry up, Captain. Getting messy out here." Bucky added to the conversation, catching Clint's attention, the bird-eyed man checking up on his newest teammate from his vantage point. Bucky could hold his own, that was for sure. Steve was a great captain and clearly that had been true back in the 40's. Then again, Bucky wouldn't have been called a sergeant for nothing.

"Working on it, Bucky." Steve grunted as he made the last jump to where Tony was struggling alone, doing okay but not as well as Steve would have hoped to witness. The fight hadn't been started on fair terms, from what Steve could see, and it definitely hadn't evened out. He joined the fray just in time, throwing his shield and deflecting what would have been a damaging blow to his boyfriend. "Back off, ugly." He shouted, "Nobody gets to knock him around but me."

Tony laughed through his gasping breaths, "Cap, you did not just say that."

Steve ignored Tony's mocking as he stalked toward the stalled villain, the masked man starting to chuckle incessantly. "Captain! How good of you to finally join the fight!"

"I've been in it all day, psycho-path." Steve didn't miss a beat as he took his place between his partner and their enemy. This guy was sending shivers down his spine and he wasn't sure why, he'd faced foes with more to back them up than a bunch of robots. It could have been because they hadn't faced anything terribly large-scale in a while, or possibly because this man's schemes seemed to be too easy to figure out. The mission specs and biography of the guy spelled it all out, he had been a genius at one point but had gone completely insane in the last few years. He'd once been a SHIELD operative, an agent that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. All in all, Steve didn't like how easy it was to figure him out.

"I've heard you and Iron Man have gotten chummy lately." The ex-agent smiled wickedly.

Steve glared through his cowl but returned the grin with one of his own, "That's one word for it. Doesn't make either of us any easier to take down."

"Well, that could be debate-able." He cooed before laughing again. His cackling was ear-piercing for a moment before he started to notice the closing in Avengers, each one climbing up to their level and approaching with weapons drawn. "What? How did you-"

"Not too bright, are you  _agent_?" Natasha spat the last word like poison, her hand casually draped over the switch that had no longer been surrounded by gunfire.

"You…" The man looked to Steve who only smiled broadly at him, "You used yourself as a distraction? What kind of Captain are you?"

"The kind that's no better than the people he leads." Steve stalked forward to apprehend him but the moment two steps had been taken their foe had bolted. Steve didn't waste time in chasing; no one was getting away that easily, especially not after all the destruction caused by his robot pets. The old army captain tackled his enemy off the two-story building, admittedly not a genius idea but it was all he had in that moment.

Tony dragged himself up and sent Jarvis through a few jumpstarting codes to kick his armour back into gear. "Piece of junk, break something important and it just stops working."

"Weird that that's how things work." Bucky raised an eyebrow at the ironclad warrior.

"Shut up, Barnes." Tony rocketed after Steve, figuring their captain had everything under control. Obviously everyone thought so or someone would have gone after him already. What Tony found when he approached, however, wasn't what he was expecting. Steve was kneeling on the ground, coughing up a storm as the man on the ground next to him lied very still, a smog of oddly coloured air around the captain. "Steve?" Tony landed and approached cautiously, "Steve, are you okay? What happened?"

Steve shook his head and looked up raggedly, "He-" another cough wracked his lungs for a few more seconds, forcing Tony to wait impatiently, "He just killed himself." Steve motioned toward the agent who had clearly popped open some kind of container that had been kept on his person. "Don't take off the helmet," Steve wheezed, his arms shaking as they attempted to hold him up, "Tell the others."

"Right, Steve are-" Tony paused when he swore he could see Steve  _shrinking_. "Cap?" The worry in his tone was growing the longer he watched his boyfriend struggling. "Shit… Steve you need a doctor,  _now_."

"I'm okay." Steve shook his head, gasping for air and attempting to move away from the dispersing toxin. "It'll… it'll wear off…" he looked down at himself, not fully believing the words that came out of his mouth. And who would? He was rapidly shrinking and that was definitely not normal.

"You're not okay, I'm taking you." Tony walked over and lifted his partner up, Steve being so much lighter, his suit hanging off his limbs instead of barely containing the muscle below.  _'What is wrong with him?'_  Tony looked over his boyfriend worriedly, hearing the others catching up.

"Stark! What's going on?" Clint called through the communicator, his hand coming up to stop anyone else from hopping down.

"Steve's not okay, this psycho had some kind of airborne poison on him. I'm taking him back to the Helicarrier." With that Tony started to take off, Steve still squirming and coughing in his arms. Panic was the best word to describe the way Tony was feeling, something was wrong with his boyfriend, something was seriously wrong with his lover and that was anything but okay with him. He needed to fix it, he had to.

"Wait! Stark!" Bucky shouted, his eyes wide as Tony took to the skies, rocketing at ridiculous speeds. Bucky touched the communicator to Tony's frequency, "You have to slow down, he can't breathe."

"I need to get him to the Helicarrier," Tony repeated mindlessly, his heart racing and pumping the reactor to a dazzling brightness.

"Listen to me." Bucky demanded, "Look at him."

Tony looked down and stopped midair, Steve's scrawny form was very still, a hand uselessly pressed on his suit to get his attention. "Steve?" Tony had already gone too fast, he had to move faster now. He soared toward aircraft, busting in and shouting for the medic. His own words were difficult to understand to him but the people on call seemed to know what he was saying. Or they were ignoring him and going with their own judgment. Tony stood by and watched painfully as his better half was resuscitated, chest finally moving again, air flowing freely.

"He's okay?" Tony inquired urgently, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's alive, Stark." One of the orderlies told him, "But it looks like whatever happened down there…"

Tony moved to Steve's side, not wanting to hear the rest. "Steve? Steve, baby can you hear me?" He didn't want to look at how small Steve was, how fragile he appeared.

"I couldn't breathe, I'm not deaf." Steve smiled tiredly at him.

"Thank god, 'cause you know, if you couldn't hear me I'd end up talking to myself a lot and-"

"You're babbling."

"Shut up." Tony rested his head on the stretcher Steve had been put up on. "So what happened?"

Steve shook his head, "I… I think the serum reversed."

"That's what it looks like," The doctor approached with a somewhat solemn expression, though really they all looked pretty grim most of the time so Tony wasn't quite sure if that was because of Steve or otherwise.

"Is it permanent?" Tony didn't care for the minor details of any of this, he wanted to know if he'd have Steve back to normal, back to being healthy and how soon he'd be back.

"I'll have to look further into it, Mr. Stark. It has just happened, calm down."

"No! He's-"

"Tony," Steve took his hand, "It's okay, I'm not dying I'm just not enhanced." He smiled, "Don't worry."

Tony looked down at Steve for a moment, it was still him just not built the same way. "Right, I… I'll calm down."

"You thought you lost me, I get it." Steve sat up slowly and kissed his boyfriend's cheek, "Thanks for worrying."

"If he hadn't worried you wouldn't have been half dead when you got up here." The doctor remarked snarkily as he walked away, motioning for the orderlies to get the blood samples and whatever else from Steve in the infirmary.

"Yeah, you walk away!" Tony shouted after him, ignoring the shushing hand Steve had tried to place on him.

"Tony, you're being sassy again." Steve warned playfully.

"What? He's a dick!"

The landing of the quinjet hadn't been a big parade or anything; the rest of the team hardly caring to secure the aircraft properly before running to where they figured Steve would end up, the sick bay. "Steve?" Bucky walked in first, following the nurse's directions as he marched through the ward. "Hey, buddy!" he smiled brightly when he saw his long-time friend propped up with a needle stuck in his arm, the poor thing wincing but trying to hide it. "How you feeling?"

Steve smiled at Bucky, "Not too bad, a bit shaken up I guess but I'll be alright."

The two spoke as if nothing were different in the room, as if Steve weren't lying in a hospital bed a third of the size he should be. Tony looked at Bucky incredulously then turned his gaze to the others who all seemed to be as shocked and disheartened as he was. Their captain wasn't in the right shape he was supposed to be, it was messed up and it was wrong. But not to Bucky and not to Steve, or at least not that Steve showed it.

"You know anything yet?" Clint asked, glancing over at Tony.

"Not yet, dumbass is still 'investigating'." Tony muttered. "Clean up went well?"

"No thanks to you." Natasha tried to offer a joking smile though she knew it wouldn't really lightened the mood any. "So you're feeling alright, Cap?"

"Well I'm feeling about the same as the way I look," Steve huffed out a laugh, the first indication that he wasn't totally neutral or good about what had happened, Tony was glad for that much at least. He wasn't sure why he was glad that Steve wasn't happy about his current state, he just wanted to know that Steve wanted to get better. But, that was a stupid thought; he knew it, so why was he thinking it?

"You feel like you're dying?" Clint raised an eyebrow, which only made Steve smile.

"In comparison, I suppose so." Steve watched the nurse take all the samples she needed and offered her a thank you before she departed. He looked at the team and his worries were starting to form in his eyes, "If… it is permanent-"

"It isn't." Tony insisted, "We'll scoop Banner up from his hidey hole and get him in on this too. You'll be okay."

Steve smiled at Tony and took his hand in his own, "Thanks."

"Don't worry, Cap." Natasha smiled, "If it is permanent you still have a place with us."

Steve would have asked 'where' but he decided to nod instead. He looked and felt weak enough; he didn't need to act it too. His pride was pretty much all he had left at that point and he was certain that it'd be useless if he whined and complained about his state of being.

"You've got me, pal." Bucky pat his shoulder, "Always."

"Thanks Bucky, everyone." Steve didn't want to consider the situation, not yet anyway. It seemed none of them were really thinking about it, what would come of him, where that place in the team would be if he wasn't physically capable to fight off aliens or robot armies. He didn't know if his mind was still that of a tactician's or if that had been taken with the serum, if any of that had been his at all. It wasn't exactly easy and he knew it wouldn't be for the next little while. But at least he still had Tony. Steve looked at his boyfriend reassuringly and held his hand as tightly as he could.

Tony smiled in return, hiding any negative thought that tried to come out. "It'll be fine, we'll get you back."

Steve decided not to address the fact that he was still right there, it was probably just poor wording on Tony's part.


	13. Chapter 13

" _Sure he's not just in it for the beautiful blonde thing?"_

" _He's very physical but it wouldn't matter, our personalities were meant for each other."_

" _Tony wouldn't leave me based on my looks."_

The following few days seemed to emulate hell in some shape or form. Steve was up and about without much of a problem once all the tests had been taken. Medical science had come a long way so he was taking several pills and other helpful things to aid his old ailments, though his feeble state was even a tad worrisome for the doctors on board, they weren't sure he could handle the medication required.

Bucky had insisted that Steve did just fine without it in the 40's, though after Steve had taken some of the pills prescribed he insisted he stay on them. They made him feel better and that was rare thing for him in that state. So inevitably Bucky backed down, not that he was entirely happy about it though.

Tony stuck with Steve, his hands staying surprisingly high on the other man's body. Steve wasn't an idiot though he didn't bring it up, Tony was obviously struggling with the sudden change, it made sense. But then he had to wonder, what did Tony like about him?

"Bucky," Steve sat with his best friend as Tony worked tirelessly alongside Bruce in the lab. They'd moved back to Stark Tower, Tony claiming he had a better facility than the one that Fury had to offer. The director wasn't entirely pleased with letting them go but conceded, on the promise that Tony would take care of their captain. Surprisingly hesitant, Tony had swore they would put things right again.

Bucky looked over at his fidgeting friend after a long pause, "Yeah?" He finally said, nudging Steve's leg with his foot, "What's up?"

"I… Well…" Steve shook his head, deciding against saying anything, "Never mind."

"Don't you 'never mind' me, what is it?" Bucky furrowed his brow, watching the way Steve stared down at himself. "Is it about not turning back yet? Steve, it's been a week, give it time, they'll get it."

"It's not that. If I end up being this for the rest of my life I'm ready, I just…" Steve couldn't shake the expression on Tony's face every night, that look of being disappointed. Steve couldn't perform in bed the same way; they both knew that, not that Tony had given him the chance though. "It's Tony-"

"Is he being an asshole? Because if he is I'll-"

"Bucky!" Steve shouted his interruption to assert that he wanted Bucky to pay attention, "No, he isn't being like that, he's just acting strangely."

"He's shallow, Steve." Bucky put it bluntly, angry eyes burning into his friend in a way Steve couldn't look away from. The truth of his words stung but Steve didn't want to believe them.

"No, he's just surprised at all of this." Steve fidgeted, "He just needs a bit of time."

"Then what were you going to say in the first place?"

Steve couldn't really say 'nothing' because Bucky would never let that fly. "Maybe… what if you are right?" He looked up worriedly, "What if he just wanted me for the physical aspect?"

"Test it." Bucky didn't hesitate to say. "Try getting it on, see how he reacts."

Steve bit his bottom lip and looked down, "You know… it's not like I haven't been trying."

"Then outright tell him what you're thinking."

Steve opened his mouth to protest but found that he couldn't. Bucky was right, why beat around the bush on this? "You're right," Steve stood and started marching to the lab, "I'll get right on that."

"You'd better." Bucky smiled, watching his friend finally stand up for himself again. He was starting to think the little twerp had gotten too used to being so big and had forgotten how to fight. He was glad to be wrong.

Steve shoved the doors to the lab open and promptly stomped over to Tony's side, "Tony," his voice hadn't changed, not even a little, something he was very happy about. The commanding tone had Tony spinning immediately, eyes bright and hopeful, looking slightly up before he remembered to look down. "Come with me." Steve didn't touch, didn't ask twice, only turned away again and walked back out.

Bruce glanced up at Tony's confused expression, "Better follow him, Tony."

"I wouldn't follow him even if he  _was_  his old self-" Tony tried to argue but the look on Bruce's face snapped his mouth shut faster than he'd ever admit.

"His old self?" Bruce lowered his research and furrowed his brow, "Tony, the only difference in him now is how he looks."

"No, he's-"

" **That's it.** " Bruce emphasized his words, nearly spitting them in Tony's face. "Do you even hear yourself!? Steve Rogers is the same man now that he was last week. The only change is that he looks physically different, that and he gets sick easily. Tony this isn't a time you abandon your partner; this is when you get behind them and help them. Steve  _needs_  you, do you understand that? Do you think our captain feels perfectly fine knowing that he can't help us in the field? That he sees himself the same way? If I were him I'd feel useless, not that he is but that's how I'd feel. Steve's a normal guy and has a self-esteem that won't always be at the top of its game. You are his boyfriend, you get your ass over there to make him feel better or you dump him. It's one or the other."

Tony swallowed the information as it was dished out to him, Bruce wasn't clowning around and as much as the shallow playboy in him wanted to ignore the logic, he couldn't. As his mind trailed over it all Bruce was muttering something to Jarvis and suddenly a voice came over the speakers in the lab.

" _Hey Tony, just calling to make sure the meeting in DC went well, I was just thinking about you."_  The nervous laugh that followed brought the memories back to Tony and nearly kicked him in the chest. He and Steve had been going out for several months, already closing in on a year. The month before, Tony had to do actual work for his company and was off with Pepper on a trip. Steve would have joined except Fury needed the captain to lead a few missions that were cropping up out of the nowhere. So they had ended up not seeing one another for two weeks. Tony closed his eyes as he listened to the awkward pause, Steve's breathing.

" _The mission went well, Bucky got a bit of a concussion but nothing too seriously. Was his own fault anyway, charging a door the way he did should be engraved in everyone's heads as a bad idea but whatever."_  Another nervous pause before a shuddered breath and a stifled whimper.  _"I love you Tony, call me back okay? …I really miss you."_

The old message cut out and Tony lowered his head, "What are you trying to say?" He muttered angrily, not looking at Bruce.

"Did you hear that?" Bruce's tone was a little softer now though the edge was still there.

"Yes, of course I did. Why did you play it?"

"Because I wanted to bring up the message I knew he left you because I was next to him in quinjet when he made it. I wanted you to know that this man loves you; I heard it in person and again just now. You two didn't get a chance to talk for two or three weeks straight and it was devastating. Tony you obviously don't know what you mean to him."

Tony shifted uncomfortably and ran a hand into his hair, "I've been an awful person, haven't I?"

"Go talk to him and find out." Bruce went back to his work, "I'll keep looking for a way to fix it though you already know what the result is probably going to be."

Tony hurried out the door, not wanting to listen to Bruce anymore. He expected to find an angry Steve waiting for him, considering he'd taken forever to follow. But Steve stood with his head lowered, bottom lip curled in and hand unconsciously clutching at his chest. "Steve?" Tony asked tentatively, watching watery blue eyes as they dared to look up.

"I heard all of that." Steve tried wiping his eyes, attempting to stay calm and strong like he had been when he'd marched over. The scratchy feeling in his throat and stinging behind his eyes were refusing to help him in his attempts, tears slipping down his cheeks as he coughed violently. He hated getting worked up, it always brought out the worst in him physically. High blood pressure and heart palpitations didn't mix so well. As his weakened frame shook and threatened to fail him, he felt strong arms wrap around him and hold him close, a warm body flush against his.

"It's okay," Tony whispered, a hand stroking Steve's trembling back soothingly. "If you heard then you already know what I'm going to say."

Steve sniffled and clutched onto his lover's suit, fingers making wrinkles in the soft fabric. "I-I thought you-" the sob that escaped him shocked Tony, the billionaire hadn't ever really heard Steve cry and the fact that he was about to for the first time hurt. It hurt more because he knew it'd be his fault.

"I was dick," Tony said quickly, his grip tightening around Steve and making sure there was no room between them, that Steve didn't feel like there was any distance there. "I really was, I know. I'm so sorry, baby." Tony could hear his own voice cracking and fought to ignore it, it didn't matter what he looked like, what he sounded like. Steve loved him no matter what, even if he started crying, even if he'd lose half his face in an accident or all of his limbs, or anything. Steve would love him. "I'm so sorry."

Steve clung to his boyfriend as he tried to calm down, "But do you… Do you still love me?"

"Yes, of course I do." Tony lifted Steve's chin and kissed him deeply, running his hands through the soft blonde hair, along the curve of his back to support him. He tasted the same, his warmth was the same, everything about Steve was the same. He wasn't a different person, sure the serum had affected so many things but hadn't actually altered who Steve Rogers was. "I always thought," Tony chuckled at himself after they broke apart, watching the pink blush on Steve's cheeks darken, "that there was no way you could be as perfect as you are, that the serum had made you the heroic dork you always acted like… But that's just you, isn't it?"

Steve laughed softly and rested against Tony's chest, "Yeah, I guess so. Though I don't think I'm a dork."

"Of course you don't." The brunette stroked his partner's hair again, holding him close and just enjoying the fact that he hadn't fucked it all up and lost the other man.

The two of them remained together for the rest of the day, Tony abandoning Bruce to work alone as he took Steve out on a date, a nice dinner and some kind of activity to follow, he wasn't entirely sure what that 'activity' was going to be though he had a bit of an idea. Steve couldn't wipe the smile from his face all evening, the thought in the back of his mind to thank Bruce after all of this neatly placed in a spot he'd remember it.

"You know it's funny," Steve muttered as he reached over and stole part of Tony's dinner, the other man only grunting and returning the gesture in reply.

"What's funny?" Tony asked as he quickly stuffed Steve's dinner roll into his mouth.

"When we started going out, our first date, I remember Bruce doing everything he could to pester us."

"Oh yeah, the bastard is one hell of a cock-blocker." The playboy shook his head, that little agitated nerve visible in his face.

"Yeah, but he also talked some sense into you." Steve pointed at him with his fork, a warm smile on his face, "We should do something nice for him."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Do something for him? Like what? What could we possibly do for Bruce?"

"Well there's got to be  _something_." Steve didn't really have an answer either.

"I'll buy him stretchy pants, how's that?" Tony offered seriously, going back to his mashed potatoes.

"Tony, come on. He's in there right now working himself to the bone to help me out, and I never asked him to." He paused and poked at his vegetables for a moment, "By the way… have you guys found anything?"

Bruce's words on how Steve must feel about himself in this state rushed back to Tony's mind instantly when he saw the awkward way Steve had asked. "Basically what it looks like is that either this will be permanent or it'll wear off on its own, we have no idea."

"Figures." Steve laughed, "I mean, really… When am I ever going to get a straight answer for how my body works?"

"Well, you could ask me." Tony smirked.

"Oh really?" Blue eyes looked up in amusement, "Alright, Tony, how does my body work?"

"Well, I know it gets really hot and flushed when I start in on a sexual topic. Your pupils dilate as your imagination gets away with you, you start picturing naked bodies, imagine touching them, feeling someone else's cock in your hand makes your palms sweaty. You start getting hard and it hurts a little but in a good way-"

"Tony!" Steve ignored how red his face was and how warm he felt as he reprimanded his boyfriend in a harsh whisper, "We're in a restaurant! You can't just-" He froze when Tony swiftly hopped around to his side of the booth, a hand immediately finding its way into Steve's pants.

"You're clothes are too big on you, cap." Tony whispered hotly in Steve's burning ear. Warm fingers wrapped around the tender flesh that was quickly stiffening the longer the contact was made. Steve moaned as he slumped back and fell against Tony, his hips struggling to push up for a better touch. "Oohh, Steve you little whore." Tony continued, propping his boyfriend up a little more comfortably, nothing worse than muscle pain getting in the way of pleasure.

"T-Tony we can't- not here. Ton-mmh!" Steve muffled another moan into Tony's hand is it clamped over his mouth, shushing him up without much of an issue. Steve squirmed as his pants were lowered easily, his cock freed from the material prison as if Tony were an expert at public indecency. Of course, it was Tony so he probably was.

"Just relax, babe," Tony mumbled as he kissed the slender neck of his partner, licking at the salty skin and biting down in a few places, just enough to leave marks. Steve did his best to cooperate though his breathing was getting heavier, his body stretching and hands flailing to grab onto Tony in some way. Tony didn't mind as Steve thrashed about, unable to figure out what to do with himself as pleasure surged from his groin with each stroke. Steve's moaning against his hand was starting to attract some attention but not enough to deter the playboy from getting his depraved boyfriend off again. He'd been neglecting Steve and it was only fair considering how he'd been treating the poor blonde. "Almost there, Steve. Come on." Tony muttered, licking the sweat from along Steve's jaw, feeling his body shake in that familiar way. Even the little 'pre-ejaculation' quirks were in tact, Steve really wasn't that different.

The captain finally relaxed against his lover's side, gasping for air as Tony lowered his hand, "You're so bad…" he wheezed, cheeks still flushed deeply, eyes dark with lust.

"In a good way," Tony smiled, licking the excess from his hand, "Though they aren't going to appreciate cleaning up the underside of the table after tonight."

Steve slapped his arm as he rose and slipped back to his side of the table, the small blonde struggling to pull his pants back to the right position. "In a good way," he agreed while ignoring the 'under the table' comment. He didn't want to look to see if he had actually managed to come that high or if he'd just embarrassed himself. Regardless he adjusted himself in his seat and went back to his dinner, a smile deeply engraved into his features. "I love you, Tony."

"I love you too." And this time, Steve believed it.


	14. Chapter 14

Steve whimpered as his back hit the wall of their bedroom but he didn't make much more fuss than that. His legs were wrapped around Tony's waist as the playboy ravenously bit and kissed his lips, the passion between them spiking, the heat shedding their clothing faster, Steve could hardly contain himself. His breath was hot as it mixed with Tony's, strong arms supporting his smaller frame easily.

"Tony," Steve gasped, his eager hands running up into the mess of brown locks and through it, repeating the motion without even thinking about it. "Oh god…" he whined and squirmed in his partner's arms, wriggling to try and get his clothes off, to touch his skin to his partner's for the first time in far too long. Tony was finally with him again, finally got his head out of his ass to realize Steve was no different now than he'd been when they started this.

The two fell onto their bed, Tony being mindful not to crush the asthmatic under him. Steve immediately worked on getting his pants off, pushing his hips up to make it a bit easier. He could feel Tony's erection and his face darkened in a deep blush as their arousals brushed past one another. The thought of Tony still being sexually ready sent a wave of butterflies into his stomach, his heart pounding erratically and eyes almost tearing up. Tony was always good at talking big but his honestly meant it this time, his body would betray him had he been lying. But he wasn't. Tony really wanted him.

"Tony," Steve whispered, his gently grazed the facial hair on his lover's chin with his thumb, "You're amazing, thank you."

Tony smiled and slipped his hands up the soft skin of Steve's chest, pushing his shirt up and revealing the man's vulnerable belly. "You don't need to thank me, gorgeous." He leaned in and planted hot kisses on his partner's flesh, trailing down from his collarbone and pausing to nibble at the hardened nub on Steve's right. The blonde tried to hold back his gasp but failed and added to it with a stuttering exhalation, his cheeks burning with a heat that quickly spread down his body and into his loins. "I'm going to take you apart, Steve." Tony growled out, "I'm going to have you begging me, 'harder'," he was remarkably good at mimicking the exasperated tone Steve would have in the middle of sex and it only made the soldier that much hotter for him. "'Faster, faster! Oh god! Please, Tony, I need it, more, more'." Tony continued to tease as he slipped down to Steve's waistline. "Baby, you're going to scream for me."

"Oh my god," Steve gasped, his hips twitching as he did his best to keep them flat while Tony was down there. "Tony, you're so-" He was suddenly cut off when his phone started to ring.

The genius rolled his eyes in a clear motion of 'I'm going to ignore that and so are you', which they did until it shut off. In the meantime Tony lifted Steve's legs over his shoulders and started gently licking at the burning hot skin of his boyfriend's cock, swallowing it down easily and enjoying every second of it. Steve tasted the same and he made the exact same pathetic whining sounds that he was embarrassed over, the ones he'd never admit to another soldier he'd ever made.

"Sir," Jarvis' voice came over the speakers next, "Director Fury is on the line."

"Busy," Tony muttered from between trembling thighs, lifting his mouth away from his boy-toy's erection briefly to say it before taking it in again. Steve moaned shamelessly, his toes curling, heels pressing into Tony's back as he allowed himself to relax and do what Tony always did; ignore the supposedly important phone calls.

"He says it's urgent, sir."

Tony growled in annoyance, the vibrations in his throat giving Steve another reason to shudder. This time he didn't bother lifting his mouth from his boyfriend's dick to answer, a muffled reply that Jarvis quite frankly didn't know what to do with.

"God, Tony." Steve wheezed, "You are… oh my-Ah! Ohhhhh!" He thrust up into the hot space of Tony's mouth as the dark haired man increased the pressure, sucking harder, tongue pushing against the stiff flesh and massaging it thoroughly. He didn't expect Steve to last very long, hell the soldier held out longer than Tony had anticipated in the first place. It was impressive, considering his much weakened state. "Tony! Tony I'm-!" Steve's body shuddered, his legs flexing against his lover's head and heels digging into his back as he came. Hands finding purchase in the brown locks that tickled his thighs as Tony sucked him through his orgasm, back arched and head pushing hard into the pillows below.

While Steve gasped to catch his breath Tony licked up any excess that might have slipped from his lips or dripped out of his captain after the fact. "You're adorable, Steve." He leaned up over the flushed face of his boyfriend and captured his lips again, their tongues lazily dancing together, exploring and getting to know each other a little more. Steve smiled when they parted, half-lidded eyes gazing into beautiful dark pools that he almost wished he could actually lose himself in. He opened his mouth to reply when they heard someone clearing their throat.

"You done?"

It was Fury; apparently Jarvis took the muffled reply as a 'put him on'. And wasn't it just Steve's luck that the director also had a videophone that could connect to the system in Stark Tower? Fury had seen everything and Steve couldn't even imagine what kind of mortification was written on his face.

"Not yet, but I guess since you're here," Tony grabbed part of the blanket and pulled it over Steve's naked form, making sure to graze his groin lightly as he went. "What's up?"

"Seems there were others with Agent Glasgow-"

"Agent what?" Tony interrupted, earning a smack from his captain who wriggled to sit up properly.

"The one that died in his own gas attack against me?" Blue eyes looked at him incredulously, "Come on Tony, pay attention."

"I had other things on my mind." Tony smiled at the pink-cheeked soldier before looking back to Fury's unimpressed face.

"They're making threats on the city, they have more of the robots from last time." Fury's expression looked about the same as it always did though his tone was the key thing to listen to, Steve could tell his was not only annoyed but slightly uncomfortable by the two he was speaking with.

"Do you know where they are now?" Steve took on his Captain tone, doing his best to not sound as small as he was.

"On their way to you, I believe. Somehow I think they know about what happened." Fury looked at Steve and a hint of concern crossed the man's eyes. "They're part of the reason you're like this now, I assume it's what they planned."

Steve curled his bottom lip in and bit it in place, his mind rushing to consider his options. He didn't have the retentive ability as he did normally so he would forget things like a regular person, but that didn't mean he wasn't able to think up a good strategy. He was still a soldier and he was still a captain, though very small he wasn't useless.

"Then we need to hide him," Tony started to get up, "Jarvis, prep my suit."

"Tony!" Steve caught the other man's arm, "I'm coming too."

"No you aren't," Tony spun on him, his eyes stern as he leaned over, his tone having no hint of a joke. "You're going to get to safety and we'll fight them off."

"Tony, I can do this!"

"No you can't!" The genius shouted right back, "They're going after  _you_ , they know what's happened and they're taking advantage of it-"

The floor beneath them started to shake as an explosion sounded, Tony's eyes widening as Fury made some sort of 'tsk'ing sound. "It seems they're here."

"Thanks for that," Tony growled angrily, running out of the room to his suit, mentally cursing that he didn't have time for any of this. First off he was supposed have sex with Steve; anything interrupting that was a pain in the ass. Secondly he needed to get to his suit to keep his boyfriend safe but of course that was a little ways off and he might just have to run past the bad guys to get there. "Just perfect."

Steve watched the door after Tony left, worry swelling in him as he hopped forward to the end of the bed, "Director, are the others on their way?"

"Yes they are, Captain. They aren't too far from your location now." Fury sighed, "Good luck."

"Thank you sir." Steve gave a quick nod as the communication cut out, glad that it had because now he could find his pants again.  _'Tony, if you think I'm going to let you take them on by yourself, you're nuts.'_  He thought as he fastened his belt and went to his side of the room, picking up the heavy chunk of vibranium. Steve ran his hand along the smooth edge of the colourful shield, doubt swimming through his mind in a way he hadn't felt in years.  _'I can do this.'_

With that in his head, Steve ran out the door, trying not to groan about how much harder it was the carry his shield.

* * *

Tony managed to make it to where his suits were kept ready, but the room was not how he expected it to be. The enemy knew what they'd do in a panic and stood between him and exactly what he needed to protect his partner.  _'Next time I'm leaving that doofus on the helicarrier…'_  Tony thought miserably as he straightened up, eyeing the guns that were trained on him. "So what now?"

"Now we wait until your captain gets here." One of the few humans in the room smirked, "It seems Glasgow did his job well-"

"Who's that again?" Tony smirked at the suddenly infuriated man.

"The ex-agent that turned Captain America- oh never mind! It doesn't matter who he was, what matters is that we're here to finish it."

"You an agent too?" Tony glanced at the robots, noting mentally that they weren't exactly amazing tech but they got the job done.

"Of sorts." The man smiled in return, "You can call me Striker, I work for Justin Hammer-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Striker? That's your name? Did Hammer give that name to you? Agent Striker sounds almost… ridiculous." Tony chuckled but stopped when he saw the guns charging.

"I won't hesitate to shoot you." Striker growled.

"Alright, I'll bite," Tony was speaking quickly but steadily; personally proud of how he could handle situations that terrified him. "What does Hammer want with Steve? And why the hell was he working with an ex-SHIELD agent?"

"Mr. Hammer only provided the robots for Glasgow who paid for them in full. It seems Glasgow had a 'hate on' for SHIELD and just felt like messing with their golden boy, piss them off a little bit in a very flashy kind of way." Striker shrugged, "His death wish was his own, I suppose he figured dying via toxic gas was better than dealing with SHIELD again."

"I could understand that." Tony mused, thinking about the obnoxious call he'd just been on with Fury.

"As for why Mr. Hammer is after Captain America, well… It's gotten out that you're sweet on him, and Mr. Hammer is very excited to take anything away from you that he can."

"So you're going to try and kill Steve just to piss me off?" Tony furrowed his brow, "That's what this is all about?"

"Just taking advantage of someone else's fun to mess with you, sounds about right." Striker grinned.

Tony laughed and shook his head, "Wow, really? And Hammer thinks he'll just get away with it, huh? That'll just sit and cry if it succeeds?"

"We'll see."

Steve stopped outside of the room, his heart beating erratically, his breathing coming in heavier than it should, he knew his body was reacting badly but if he could just hold onto control a bit longer he'd be fine. The soldier peered inside, holding the shield up slightly in front of him just in case. "Tony…" he whispered under his breath, eyes widening in horror as the scene appeared more and more real to him.  _"I've got to do something. I have to help him.'_  So he did. "Hey!" Steve called as he stepped into the doorway, "Looking for me?"

"Ah, there he is." Striker smiled, "Perfect."

"Steve, you stupid little…" Tony muttered, glancing back over his shoulder to see the stubborn soldier behind him.

"What do you want with me?" Steve didn't falter, not in the slightest. Fear wasn't a descriptor he carried well and wasn't something he intended to give any kind of control.

"Aside from what we've told Mr. Stark here," Striker motioned toward Tony briefly, "We're actually interested in your shield, Captain."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Hammer wants to build stuff out of vibranium?"

"It's effective." Steve argued, "That makes sense."

' _So he's aiming to hurt me, but mostly this is all just meant to get the shield. Steve's not wrong it is very effective otherwise he wouldn't use it so often. If Hammer can recreate it he might actually become a problem.'_  Tony looked at the robots around the room, noticing that only half were aiming at him now, the other half aimed for Steve.  _'Son of a bitch…'_

' _Where are the others?'_  Steve couldn't help but think as two of the enemy machines started toward him,  _'Fury said they aren't far off, so where the heck are they?'_  He couldn't rely on them, he knew that, but it didn't stop the hope that they'd be there.

"Hand it over, Captain." Striker ordered firmly, his jaw clenched as his humour faded.

"Not gonna happen." Steve nearly snarled back, which would have been almost frightening had he any mass to back it up. Tony's mind couldn't help but bring up an image of a Chihuahua and it took more will power than he thought to keep from laughing.

"Huh… guess we'll just have to give you some incentive."

Before Steve could speak one of the robots fired a round at the billionaire in the middle of the room. Tony immediately buckled to his knees, hands clasped around his midsection in agony. "TONY!" Steve screamed and reacted without thinking, hurling the shield into the room with a strength he didn't think he had anymore. The patriotic defending-weapon crashed into the first robot and ping-ponged around the room. It hit every single one of the heartless things, ending the scene by cracking into Striker's surprised head.

Steve dropped next to Tony who had curled up on the floor, blood leaking from his mouth, eyes wide and staring across the room like someone had just surprised him and his face had frozen in that expression. "Tony?" Steve tried to check for the injury, gently moving his boyfriend's hands out of the way, not sure if Tony's were shaking or if his were. "Tony look at me, say something."

No answer came to him though Tony did look up, tears rising from his eyes and spilling over. Steve looked at Tony's back and noted the exit wound, at least there wasn't a bullet lodged in him anywhere. He was scared and wasn't sure what to exactly to do but he had to help with the bleeding, pulling off his shirt and pressing it to Tony's wound was the only solution he could come up with until the others showed up. "It's okay, Tony. You're going to be fine." Steve had seen soldiers die this way, had watched comrades fall from shots like this, some even less than this. He positioned Tony onto his lap carefully, trying to stop the blood from either side, "You're okay," he whispered, consoling himself or Tony, he wasn't quite sure.


	15. Chapter 15

He wasn't moving. Things were eerily dark and quiet. Tony didn't like it. He felt like falling, felt like he was swimming, or flying, or whatever that awful sensation was. He didn't like it. Where was he? Why was he alone? Maybe he'd never been with anyone in the first place; maybe he'd never been awake. Maybe he'd died in Afghanistan and everything after had been some demented dream. The thought seemed to be a comfort, calmed a shaky panic he felt in his bones. He was scared; of pain, of death, of everything. The world seemed like it was nothing all around him, felt like nothing. He preferred it that way, he thought. He didn't know how to move, or speak, or even close his eyes.

"Can you hear that?" Steve's voice broke the agonizing silence and endless thoughts. He hadn't known how to close his eyes because it wasn't working; it wasn't working because they were already closed.  _How do I open my eyes?_ He blinked once before dark brown orbs darted up to see his lover next to him, a stronger, muscled arm slung around his shoulder. He could feel Steve there now.

"Hear what?" Tony mumbled, surprised he could talk. "I don't hear anything."

"Listen," Steve smiled at him.

Tony didn't know how to listen but he tried. Steve made it possible.

Steve made everything possible. Steve made it all possible and all worth it. The world couldn't be nothing because Steve was in it.

"I love you." A distant voice spoke to him, cracked and broken. The person was crying, sobbing, breaking. Tony could hear it. He didn't want to.

"Make it stop." He looked up and realized Steve wasn't sitting beside him any longer. "Steve?"

" _I love you, please… Please Tony… Don't do this."_

"Don't do what? Steve? Steve!" Tony shouted, his heart aching. His heart… he looked down at it, saw nothing. "Steve please… what am I doing?" he looked around again, hearing what he hated to hear most. "Am… Am I the one making you cry?"

" _Don't do this to me, baby… Please…"_  Steve wasn't just crying. Tony could hear him shattering with every little gasping breath.

"What am I doing!?" He screamed, "I'll stop! I promise! Just tell me what I'm doing to you!"

" _I need you."_

Tony was standing now, eyes wide and chest feeling tighter and tighter, like suffocation in slow motion. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know how to do anything but Steve made it possible. Steve needed him, he could do anything. Steve was crying for him, he would do  _anything_  to make it stop. Defy any logic and all rules of reality, just as long as he could wipe those tears away.

He tried to run but fell.

He screamed louder but Steve couldn't hear.

He wanted to cry and tears came.

He thought about giving up.

But he heard Steve scream.

* * *

"NO! Don't you dare pull the plug! Stop!" Steve shrieked as tears streamed down his face, trying to fight against his best friend who was holding him back firmly. "Don't kill him, please!" He wailed, wrecked and exhausted and unable to pull away from Bucky's grip. "No! TONY!"

The quiet blips of the monitor went silent as the monitor shut off, the power pulled. "I'm sorry, Captain, he hasn't pulled through and his brain is all but dead."

"That's not possible!" Steve sobbed as he dropped at Tony's bedside, "He was never hit in the head!"

"The power of the human mind is immense," Natasha whispered from a corner of the room, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "People are able to will their bodies to believe almost anything. Tony… Tony's not okay with this kind of trauma, I don't think he was able to get over the shock…"

Clint put his arm around her shoulders quietly, "Let's go… Cap needs time now."

Bruce stood with his jaw clenched tightly for a moment before he relaxed and lowered his head, "I'm sorry we didn't make it in time, Steve." He said softly before walking out of the room, his hand cracking the doorframe as he pushed away from it.

"He wouldn't… he's stronger than that…" Steve's bottom lip quivered as he took Tony's hand in his, "He… he will wake up…"

Bucky placed a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder, squeezing it gently before walking out with the others, giving Steve his space. Tony had been like this for nearly a year now, had been comatose and unresponsive. Steve went to him every day, every day he suffered at that bedside quietly watching and praying that Tony would be okay. Steve had faith that Tony would wake up and be perfectly fine. Bucky couldn't help but feel anger swelling in him at the thought, what kind of higher power was Steve praying to? Would God really let someone so devoted hurt like that? Steve didn't deserve the kind of agony he'd been put through so many times, but then, Bucky knew Steve well enough to know that often the blonde idiot would put himself in those situations. All he could do was hope that Steve would bounce back, like he did when he thought Bucky was dead, when he woke in the 21st century, and like his body did after being hit with that gas. Steve was back to his Captain America form; he had transformed most of the way by the time they'd reached the room he'd been holding Tony in. Bucky never wanted to see tears on that face again but it seemed that wish wouldn't come true.

" _Steve?" Bucky walked into the hospital room, feeling anxious about the equipment and the noise that everything made, that awful beeping sound piercing his ears every time he heard it. Steve was in the same position he'd been in the last time he'd visited; quiet and looking down at Tony's still form expectantly. "Hey, any different?"_

" _No." Steve shook his head, his jaw quivering, "No… nothing's different. He's breathing the same, his arc reactor doesn't change, his eyelids don't move, his eyes don't move… nothing."_

_Bucky took the seat next to his best friend and sat with him silently for hours. He did this every day and sometimes he thought it didn't help at all but he knew better, Steve needed him. Needed his best friend to be there for him, with him, just someone to help ease the pain of being alone in a room with someone who might never wake up. Bucky also knew that if he played along with Steve's hope that Tony might wake, that if he asked if there had been any change every time he entered, it would keep Steve going. Steve wouldn't feel like the only one that believed it, and eventually he'd get better. Bucky believed that and hoped it was enough._

" _Thank you." Steve whispered, not looking at his friend, and Bucky didn't need him to._

" _You're welcome, Steve."_

Bucky closed his eyes as well as the door behind him. "I'm sorry…" He muttered before walking down the hall after the others.

"Tony," Steve whispered, lowering his head to rest on his lover's chest, the arc reactor still glowing, faintly but still alight. His eyes were closed as he rested there, letting the ache in his chest pulse as painfully as it wanted. Distracted enough, he didn't notice the glow of the arc reactor as it brightened to its old capacity, but he did hear and feel the sudden gasping breath that Tony took.

"Steve?" Tony babbled out the first thing that came to mind, "Steve where are you?"

Steve sat bolt upright and leaned over his lover to see if he was just imagining hearing the man's voice. "Tony? Tony are you okay? You're talking?"

"I had the worst nightmare…" Tony mumbled, suddenly feeling how dry his throat was. "You wouldn't stop… crying…" He trailed off as he saw the very wet eyes that stared down at him, the streaks left on his face and the redness on his skin. "You were crying." Tony pulled Steve down into a hug, squeezing as tightly as he was able, "Baby don't cry, I'm right here."

Steve was in more shock than he could really explain, and as much as he wanted to listen to his partner he couldn't help but cry. A wave of emotions crashed into him all at once, the pain and fear of losing his lover and then the sudden relief and happiness that Tony was alive, that Tony was talking again. "I've gone insane." Steve blubbered, leaning up and kissing Tony rapidly, not caring that he was soaking the other man with his tears. "I'm crazy, you're talking to me."

Tony laughed softly, not about to pull away from Steve's affection. "Why is it so weird that I'm talking?"

Steve shook his head, "Doesn't matter." He wrapped his arms around Tony and pulled him up, burying his face into the warm and overly sanitized skin. "I love you," he choked out, "I love you so much, Tony. Please, don't ever do that again."

Tony ran his hand down Steve's back, listening to the repeated babbling of his boyfriend, trying to piece it together.  _'I got shot. It doesn't hurt. He's surprised I'm talking.'_  "How long was I out?" He asked gently, not wanting to push Steve too much but his curiosity wouldn't just let him sit on it.

"A year," Steve sniffled and lifted his head again, a sad smile pulling at his lips, "Everything healed perfectly fine but you… you wouldn't wake up."

He could sit there and complain, he could freak out about how upset he was at losing that one-year, that it had happened to him at all. But he didn't want to. Steve had been through enough; Tony could see that easily without knowing much else about the past year. "You know," Tony laughed and rubbed away the tears on his lover's face, smiling warmly, "If I complained about losing a year of my life compared to the 70 that you lost, I think I'd have to call myself a wuss."

Steve managed a laugh for once and the sound made Tony smile wider, "Get the doctor back in here, let's get me home."

Steve nodded quickly, kissing Tony's forehead as he stood up, "I'll be right back."

Tony watched Steve as the soldier walked out and lifted his eyebrows in appreciation, his eyes drawn to the firm ass of his  _very_  tall partner, "It wore off." He muttered before grinning wildly. He felt a bit sluggish but other than that he was ready to get up and get some coffee, like he'd finally slept after working for almost a week without sleep. It wasn't a fun feeling but he was no stranger to it.

Moments later everyone ran into the room, eyes nearly sparkling when they saw him sitting up, that tell-tale grin on his face. "Tony," Bruce scoffed, rubbing at already red eyes, "You're okay… I can't believe it."

"Better believe it, Bruce." Tony winked at him, "Because once Steve let's me, I'm jumping right back into the lab with you."

"One thing at a time, Mr. Stark." The doctor smirked, starting the check-up without being prompted else he be bombarded by the excited crowd.

* * *

Camera crews were on the scene as Tony climbed out of his car, Steve right behind him. Everyone wanted to talk to him, wanted to take pictures of the man in a one-year coma just after waking up. Steve shielded him as they hurried into the tower, not bothering to speak to any of the vultures, despite their best intentions they were still vultures.

"That was crazy," Tony laughed, "So many people here just to say hi."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Don't act like it's a new thing." He leaned down and kissed the genius' cheek.

"So much excitement in one day," Tony sighed, "I need a vacation."

Steve looked at him curiously, "We could always go to Malibu I guess."

"Hmm… deal. Wanna race there?" Tony didn't put much thought into it but he didn't need to.

"No, absolutely not." Steve laughed, "You're in no condition."

"Fine, I'll make a few phone calls, we'll-" Steve's hand covered his mouth and shut him up, vibrant brown eyes snapping up to stare into the clear blue that hadn't once glanced away from him.

"You are coming to bed with me first, you are going to sleep and rest up, after you wake up we'll spend the entire following day together just you and me, and then, after all of that, we'll go to Malibu." Steve spoke slowly, his smile sending little waves of warmth throughout Tony's entire being. He'd never felt so cared for and Steve hadn't even said anything caring in that whole run-on sentence.

Once the captain had lifted his hand from Tony's mouth, the brunette immediately babbled his reply, "I love you, Steve."

"I love you too, Tony."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) Let me know what you though via comment/kudos/sending someone else to read it etc.


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